Local 50 Members Return to Work, Company Announces Plant to Close

July 8, 2009

Just days after a federal administrative law judge (ALJ) found Stella D'Oro Biscuit Co. guilty of several labor law violations and ordered the company to reinstate the 136 workers who have been on strike since August, the cookie maker announced it was closing its Bronx, N.Y., plant.

On June 30, National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ALJ Steven Davis ruled that Stella D'Oro, owned by Brynwood Partners, refused to bargain with BCTGM Local 50, improperly declared an impasse in negotiations and illegally refused the workers' May 6 offer to return to work. Davis ordered the company to reinstate the workers with back pay and interest.

The Local 50 members returned to work on July 7. Yet the company not only is appealing the judge's ruling, it announced it will close the factory's doors in October. The International Union and Local 50 officers are meeting to determine the next actions.

During the strike, the workers received tremendous support from New York-area unions and the community. The bakery workers were joined on the picket lines by nurses, staff at the City University of New York, textile workers and many others, with the New York State United Teachers union presenting the workers with $2,500 for their strike fund. The workers have taken their struggle to the luxurious offices of Brynwood Partners in Greenwich, Conn., and to the home of Brynwood Partners and Stella D'Oro Chairman Hendrik Hartong III, son of Henk Hartong Jr., former Pittston Coal CEO and Brynwood founder.

7/1/09 Update:

Victory for Stella D'Oro workers!

Stella D’oro Biscuit Company has been found guilty of labor law violations by a federal administrative law judge in a decision released late in the afternoon yesterday...

Click here to read the full press release!

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BCTGM Local 50 Strike Against Stella D'Oro Continues as Private Equity Owners Seek to Devour Wages, Benefits

Members of BCTGM Local 50 in Bronx, New York have been on strike against the Stella D'Oro biscuit company since August 13, 2008 posting pickets around the clock in a battle to defend their wages, benefits and dignity.

Stella D'Oro, established over 75 years ago, is a nationally known maker of specialty baked goods.

 

Local 50 President Joyce Alston thanks the crowd for their solidarity and support.

ACT NOW! Click Here to Support Striking Local 50 Members at Stella D’Oro

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When the contract expired on June 29, the private equity owners presented a series of demands as their "final offer". The company is insisting on reductions in wages over each year of the proposed 5 year agreement, a sharp increase in the employee contribution to health care, radical reductions in paid sick leave and vacation time, mandatory overtime and elimination of the union label from all product packaging!

The company's flat refusal to review their demands on the workforce or to consider union proposals left BCTGM Local 50 with no choice but to strike. Union members have been walking the picket line in 6-hour shifts, 24 hours a day, and have received support and solidarity from other local unions, businesses and community residents. At a traditional Labor Day rally on September 1, state and local political representatives strongly condemned the company's stance and expressed support for the union's struggle.

Local 50 is engaged in a tough fight with a predatory investment fund and a management which has suggested that many Stella d'Oro workers should be earning a minimum wage since "anyone can do their job." The local welcomes messages of solidarity and support - write to Local 50 President Joyce Alston at bctgmlocal50@aol.com.