A delegation of Jews joined Hispanic workers to protest outside the factory Tnuva. Humberto Arellano / EDLP
The managers of Tnuva Food Industries decided to close their offices yesterday, (August 2nd) at 601 Lexington Avenue so they would not have to face the group of workers and rabbis who were protesting in front of their building.
One of those protesting was María Corona Pérez, who used to prepare salads and help out in the kitchen between 60 and 70 hours a week at the Flaum Appetizing warehouse in Brooklyn, which distributes Tnuva products. In 2008, she and other workers decided to form a union and demand unpaid overtime and decent wages. "My manager fired me and 22 of my colleagues because we wanted to defend our rights," said Corona.
Felipe Romero Pérez protested next to her. He started out packaging cucumbers, but in recent years he worked in food distribution. "They fired us on May 26th in 2008 for supporting María. The boss told us that if we joined her, there wouldn't be any more work for us," said Romero.
Dionisio Melchor, who carried his grandson in his arms, explained, "We are protesting for the wages they haven't paid us, in overtime, on vacation; they haven't paid us any of that."
Among shouts of, "We want justice now!" protesters held up signs saying, "Being kosher doesn't mean stealing salaries" and "Exploiting workers makes milk bitter!"
The ex-Flaum workers had support from young rabbis who came from all five boroughs. "We are trying to raise the awareness of our Jewish brothers, raise our voices and stand behind these workers that are fighting for justice," said Steven Exler, an assistant rabbi at the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale.
Daniel Gross, executive director of Brandworkers, an advocacy group for retail and food employees, compared the food industry in New York to factories in Latin America and China. "The violation of human rights, workers' rights, and health code regulations is typical of this industry, which includes grocery stores, supermarkets, and restaurants." Gross compared the situation to that of the Gap Company, which can't ignore what happens in the factories where its products are made. Like Gap, he said, Tnuva cannot turn a blind eye to its distributors.
Numerous union representatives attended the demonstration, among them Roberto Meneses, president of the Woodside, Queens Day Workers United; Virgilio Aran, of the Restaurant Opportunities Center; and Joycelyn Gill Campbell, of Domestic Workers United.
Currently, the workers are devoting their time to two legal claims: one before the National Labor Board, and another in federal court, which, according to the workers' lawyer, Stuart Lighten, is in the stage of preparing motions and should be underway by the beginning of 2012.
Calls to Tnuva and Flaum were not answered, and since this article has been published, they still have not responded to any questions.
