1199 strike looms, Gristedes Owner getting serious & More one liners....

A new book by New York Times labor reporter Steven Greenhouse examines how much of the American workforce is working more but earning less. Wages have stagnated, health and pension benefits have grown stingier, and job security has shriveled. Greenhouse joins Democracy Now! to talk about The Big Squeeze: Tough Times for the American Worker. Listen to the interview here.

A Salmonella strain was found in irrigation water at a Mexican farm.

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco has reversed a lower court ruling that denied certification of a class-action suit brought by Hispanic workers at some of Bashas' Food City stores — stores at which questions of whether the workers are represented by the United Food and Commercial Workers Union are in dispute. The suit, filed in 2003 with the assistance of union officials, charges Bashas' with discriminating against those employees in pay and working conditions because of their Hispanic origin.

1199 SEIU intends to strike if contracts are not ratified with 25 area home care agencies by mid September, rally planned for Aug. 7

Republican businessman John Catsimatidis is ramping up a possible run for mayor, telling city GOP officials today that he's hiring staff and launching an exploratory committee.

The NY SUN also ran a story on Castimatidis.

With a Saturday contract deadline looming, several hundred Verizon Communications union workers staged a protest rally yesterday afternoon in Patchogue.

The Amish Hyde park closing continues to receive press.

Politics

Our endorsement of De Blasio was noted in the Queens Ledger.

The Times' Michael Barbaro questions Bill Thompson's spending.

Clinton reportedly accepted Barack Obama’s offer to speak on the second day of the Democratic convention.

Hillary Clinton had a private dinner with Diane Feinstein, the founder of Emily’s List, and two others.

New York City will join five states in suing the federal Environmental Protection Agency.

Costco in NYC, Fresh Direct's new online store & Wednesday Morning One Liners...

The proposal to bring Costco to the Upper West side just got some more steam, Mayor Bloomberg has endorsed the plan.

Here's yesterday's Costco NY SUN article.

To mark its sixth anniversary of service, online grocer FreshDirect has formed a partnership with Union Square Wines & Spirits to launch the USQ Wine Store. The new online venture offers a selection of over 200 fine wines and specialty liquors easily browsed with innovative web features.

Wild Edibles, the seafood wholesaler and retailer at the center of a battle with labor organizers over alleged violations of workers’ rights, has filed for bankruptcy protection.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals here yesterday reversed a lower court’s decision that allowed Whole Foods to acquire Wild Oats, but it was not clear what the net impact of the ruling would be since the two chains have become well-integrated during the past year.
Read more of this story

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. this week is taking the next step in its effort to provide in-home tech support for customers by offering the services of computer "geeks" through 20 of its Sam's Club outlets.

Prosecutors will appoint two officers to monitor a 1,500-member union that represents operators of cranes and heavy construction equipment.

Hillary is about to make a few appearances for Obama.

The Real Deal reports:

Big-box spaces available, but no tenants in sight

Retail spaces of 20,000 square feet and up are rising in supply, but big-box stores aren't looking to move in. Large spaces at 224 and 250 West 57th Street have been vacant since late last year, and another space at 300 West 57th Street has been on the market for more than two years. Shopping complexes like East River Plaza and the Rego Park Mall II are also planning to open up. Landlords are considering breaking up the spaces into smaller units.

More at: [Crain's]

From Yesterday

A year-long campaign by workers’ advocacy group to put pressure on seafood purveyor Wild Edibles to settle a dispute over alleged labor law violations appears to be paying off.

75% of 69 surveyed stores in Westchester are over-charging for Milk, including Gristedes.

The Poughkeepsie Journal reports that the Hyde Park Amish Market is officially going out of business

Here’s the full article in today’s Journal.

Amish Market’s new Long Island City store will be called the ‘Food Cellar’

One more blog regarding the Food Cellar.

Tesco’s Fresh & Easy chain is planning to incorporate local and community elements into its design for the first time at a store it plans to open here later this year, according to reports.
Read more of this story

Brian String was re-elected as president of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 152, one of the largest unions in southern New Jersey, after capturing about 85 percent of the votes in an election Friday. String earned 3,755 votes against rival Ken Marr, who received 611 votes, union officials said Monday.

0D

Building Blocks Conference gets some blog action.

According to Eliot Brown at the Observer, Extell Development may be looking to put a 150,000 sq, ft Costco into its Riverside Boulevard complex: "Extell Development is in talks with discount bulk retailer Costco to occupy a large underground store as part of a new 3.3 million-square-foot development of mostly residential buildings on the Upper West Side.

Politics

In this morning's Crain's Insider, UFCW Local 1500's Pat Purcell comes to the defense of Shelly Silver. Here's the item:

The Perils of Insurgency

Insurgent candidate Paul Newell’s claim that Shelly Silver overstated his efforts to keep a local Pathmark open a drew a harsh response from the union representing store workers. “The workers at Pathmark have never met Newell and have no idea who he is,” says Pat Purcell of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1500. “Silver was the linchpin in keeping that store open and our members employed. His opponent’s cheap, political shot is disgraceful.” Newell says that he has been working with other community groups.

Clinton Lauds Housing Pact For Starrett CitySenator Clinton, accompanied by a small army of elected officials, rallied at Starrett City in Brooklyn yesterday to celebrate an agreement that will preserve its "affordable" housing.

Other

UAlbany off party school list

Pop a bottle of champagne: The University at Albany got off the list of America's top party schools. In 1998 and 2004, the Princeton Review college guide annoyed many on campus by ranking UAlbany first on its honor roll of the country's most booze- and drug-addled campuses.

Monday Morning One Liners

Stop & Shop here may be closing some or all of the 132 Dunkin' Donuts locations in its stores and replacing them with Starbucks, according to local reports last week.
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Retail Stocks looks at A&P.

A&P's Pathmark banner will host a multicultural arts festival in Philadelphia on Aug. 2 and 3. The event will follow others held in New Jersey and New York in May and June.
Read more of this story

Voter Registration for Barrack Obama at Commack King Kullen next Saturday.

California's restaurants must be trans fat-free by 2010, and retail baked goods sold in the state must eliminate the artificial fats by 2011, according to new state legislation signed Friday by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Read more of this story

Amish Market in Hyde Park is closing.

The MTA has re-routed their bus route to stop at the shops at Atlas Park.

The government is giving incentives for Medicare E-Prescribing.

Complete with a new logo and streamlined appearance, the Quincy, Mass.-based Stop & Shop grocery chain is celebrating its 94th year of business by revamping its image with a focus on convenience.

NY Daily News writes on the Myrtle Ave & Gristedes dilemma

Unions Rally, Vowing Strike at Verizon: The unions representing 65,000 Verizon workers on Saturday

resounded a pledge to strike if demands for higher wages, caps on health care payments and limits on outsourcing jobs are not honored

Political

The DFL Party filed a formal complaint this week against the sponsors of two ads that slam U.S. Senate candidate Al Franken for supporting federal legislation making union organizing easier.

With powerful labor heavy states such as Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Indiana pivotal to victory in November's presidential election, Barack Obama is getting ready to play the union card.

In the aftermath of the soap-operalike spectacle that led to the decision by Representative Vito J. Fossella to not seek another term in Congress, much of the attention has centered on the troubles that his fellow Republicans have had in finding a candidate to succeed him in the 13th Congressional District.

Wal-Mart inks a Union Deal?? and Friday Morning One Liners

Morning Readme: 07/25/08

Wal-Mart has signed union contracts in China?!

Here's more Bloomberg News: Wal-Mart inks two Union Deals.

Stop & Shop is suing Whole Foods.

Here's more on the lawsuit.

Sen. John McCain’s “Straight Talk Express” made a stop at a Weis Markets-owned King’s grocery store in P.A. Wednesday where he addressed food cost inflation

Stop & Shop and Giant-Landover are planning to expand their “Affordable Food Summits,” where local politicians and economists visit stores to describe how consumers can best save money on groceries. Stop & Shop has staged three such events so far at stores in New York and New Jersey, but plans to schedule four more by September in New England and Baltimore,

The upcoming season of Top Chef takes place in NYC, contestants have been seen at Whole Foods.

NJ-Local officials have given their initial approval for a 280,000-sf shopping center at the intersection of Route 9 and Lanes Mill Road here. Proposed by YCC Development Inc., a locally based group, the project named Tropicana Commercial Center would be anchored by an 118,000-sf BJ's Wholesale Club.

A BJs employee triggered a dry chemical at a BJs Gas pump.

An analyst downgraded shares of BJ's Wholesale Club on Wednesday after rival Costco Wholesale Corp. offered an earnings outlook below Wall Street expectations, citing rising energy costs and plans to refrain from raising prices.Shares of BJ's fell $3.86, or 9.5 percent, to $36.89, while rival Costco declined $8.57, or 11.9 percent, to $63.43.

Costco Wholesale Corp. here yesterday saw its stock plummet more than 12% after it issued a warning that its net income for the current quarter will fall short of expectations, in part due to its effort to keep prices down amid rising product costs

A strike by United Parcel Service workers could hit the Chicago metropolitan area next week.

NYC is world's 22nd most expensive city; The only North American city to make the top 50, New York City fell seven spots; Moscow retained the top spot for the third consecutive year, followed by Tokyo and London.

PARIS — For Senator Barack Obama, who came to Europe once in the last four years, making a stop in London on his way to Russia, the response of many Europeans to his potential presidency has been gratifying — emotional, responsive, replete with the sense of hope he seeks to engender about a more flexible, less ideological America. (Pictured Below)

AP: Testing the waters for a swim in the Hudson The Hudson River is scenic, historic -- but swimmable?

Newsday writes on the 15th Leg District in Suffolk County.

Yesterday's One Liners...

Forgot to post these yesterday, sorry everyone...

07/24/08

Supermarkets in underserved communities in Michigan can qualify for tax exemptions under a new law passed last week by the state Legislature . The law — aimed at eliminating "food deserts," where access to fresh foods is usually more limited — amends the state's Commercial Rehabilitation Act to include "retail food establishments" as rehabilitated commercial properties that would be eligible to receive reductions in property taxes for periods of one to 10 years as determined by local government units.

Long Island's largest supermarkets, including Waldbaum's, A&P, Pathmark, have agreed to buy and sell more local produce.

Riverhead's local paper covered the story also.: "If you walked into a Waldbaum's last week, you didn't really know where the squash you we're buying came from. Now you're going to know that," he said. "Once you have that in the store, and this is what King Kullen found, the demand in their case actually went up. People wanted to buy local."

The Queens Ledger writes: "No Gristides for Myrtle Ave"

Ahold USA grocery chains Stop & Shop, Giant Food and Giant Food Stores yesterday announced their support of the Conservation Alliance for Seafood Solutions' Common Vision, a program focused on protecting the health of the oceans, and the long-term seafood supply, by working with companies to develop and implement sustainable seafood policies.
Read more of this story

A garment factory in Long Island City, Queens, was busted Wednesday by the state Department of Labor for underpaying its workers and deliberately concealing sweatshop conditions.

NY Times Steven Greenhouse writes more: It was one of the worst sweatshops that state inspectors have visited in years, they said, sometimes requiring its 100 employees to work seven days a week, sometimes for months in a row.

About 1.8 million New Yorkers use food stamps to pay for groceries, which is 30,000 more than two years ago and 500,000 more than seven years ago.

Costco Wholesale Corp. here yesterday saw its stock plummet more than 12% after it issued a warning that its net income for the current quarter will fall short of expectations, in part due to its effort to keep prices down amid rising product costs.
Read more of this story

Mayoral hopeful and Representative Anthony Weiner had a lot to say regarding Wal-Mart Tuesday.

• Weiner to spur jobs in outer boroughs [Crain's (N.Y.)]
  He noted that private developers are betting that they will, and said non-union discounters like Wal-Mart were not welcome here. “What is the value of having a Wal-Mart on Queens Boulevard that wipes out the rest of Queens Boulevard?” he asked. “The big-box store undercuts local development.”
  

• Bloomberg Critic Becoming a Champion for Mayoral Run [The Sun (N.Y.)]
  He argued against opening low-cost stores, such as Wal-Mart, in the city, saying that neighborhood shopping streets should be valued and protected.
  

• Weiner as a Middle-Class-Friendly Bloomberg [New York Observer]
  The crux of Weiner’s speech, at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Manhattan, focused on job development. He did not rule out raising taxes, but did say that high taxes stymie job development. He defended the policy that prevents Wal-Mart (but not other big box stores), from coming into the city because it does not pay adequate wages.
  

• As Mayor, Anthony Weiner Won't Open NYC to Wal-Mart [Gothamist Blog]
  At a breakfast forum this morning, Representative Anthony Weiner - a likely mayoral candidate - handed out a 5,000 word manifesto about how he would keep the city affordable for the middle class. The Sun has it that Weiner also used his half-hour speech to criticize the proliferation of big-box chains in New York, wondering, "What is the value of having a Wal-Mart on Queens Boulevard that wipes out economic development on the rest of Queens Boulevard. What is the value of saving 15 or 20% on that pair of jeans, in terms of creating jobs for the rest of Queens?"

Politics/Policy/Development

Checking off another box for his carefully scripted mayoral campaign, Rep. Anthony Weiner Tuesday laid out a five-point plan for “keeping New York the capital of the middle class” by encouraging job growth in the boroughs outside Manhattan.

Under Governor David Paterson's bill, a proposed property tax cap would not apply to New York City, Rochester, Buffalo, Syracuse, and Yonkers. The Republican-led Senate has agreed to pass the bill when it returns to Albany for a special session. The bill would bar school districts from hiking taxes more than 4 percent per year, or 120 percent of inflation. Property taxes have grown by an average of 6 percent a year over the past decade. Read it here.

Gov. David A. Paterson plans to sign a bill into law on Wednesday that will significantly alter New York State’s program to encourage the redevelopment of polluted building sites, known as brownfields.

Here's more Newsday (Stacey Altherr): Focus on cleanup efforts

WASHINGTON — It started as a routine conference call. But at some point during the call, Representative Anthony D. Weiner became furious, convinced that his scheduler had not given him a crucial piece of information. His scheduler, John J. Graff, who was in the next room, suddenly heard the congressman yelling at him through the wall. Then, Mr. Graff recalled, Mr. Weiner started pounding his fists on his desk, kicked a chair and unleashed a string of expletives.Two weeks later, Mr. Graff, a Navy veteran, became the latest of a sizable number of staff members who have resigned after an abbreviated stint with Mr. Weiner, a Democrat who represents parts of Brooklyn and Queens. Read it here.

Other

Attention to Mets fans, get ready to pay double for ticket prices.