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Since August 2008, workers of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers & Grain Millers (BCTGM) union have been on strike from their jobs at a Stella D’oro factory in the Bronx, NY.
Workers are facing wage cuts of up to 25 percent, an end to overtime pay, and the introduction of a 20 percent employee healthcare coverage policy. Rightly so, worker’s stopped making cookies at the factory in the Bronx in August. Stella D’oro in reaction has brought in scabs to continue to produce goods.
Increasingly receiving support from local unions, activist groups, and community politicians, the workers of Stella D’oro have built a team of solidarity. On May 30, 2009, nearly 500 people marched down Broadway from 225 Street to the Stella D’Oro factory. People in the community were handed flyers detailing the Stella D’oro dilemma and encouraged many to march with them.
Overhead MTA train conductors honked their horns in solidarity as the crowd raised its signs and chanted “BOYCOTT! STELLA D’ORO!”. A neighborhood that has rarely seen any sort of demonstration like this was rocked by the energy of this solidarity. While stopped in front of a Stop and Shop Supermarket, which continues to sell Stella D’oro goods, the crowd chanted “SHAME ON YOU, STOP and SHOP!”
At the factory gates a picket circle was formed. Scabs were told to get out of the factory and boycott Stella D’oro. However, the police upholding their private property protecting duties, forced everyone away from the factory and on the sidewalk. Yet the spirits of workers, organizers, and community members remained high as a second and final rally took place.
Below are some of the images I took off of my cell phone. You can find more about the struggle at Stella’Doro here, as well as more images and how you can contribute to the cause.
Also, checkout Socialist Worker’s coverage of the Stella D’oro strike.
Tags: Stella D'oro, strike
5:46 pm. Activism, Politics.
