Labor and Union Studies

¶ … Conflict, Debate or Struggle in the Contemporary U.S. Labor Movement

The work of Rutkowski and Dirkin (2010) reports that a kosher food company in Williamsburg is "locked in a battle with former workers who charge they were stiffed out of overtime pay - and then fired when they complained." The investigators for the National Labor Relations Board is stated to have found that Flaum Appetizing Corporation "illegally booted the workers, and ordered the company to cough up around $260,000 in back pay." (Rutkowski and Dirkin, 2010) However, owner of the company, Moshe Grunhut is stated to have "refused to comply -- saying he won't' pay the workers because they're undocumented immigrants." (Rutkowski and Dirkin, 2010)

Methodology

The methodology employed in this study is one of a qualitative nature that has involved a review of the literature in regards to case of failure to pay overtime on the part of Flaum Appetizing Corporation. Literature that has been reviewed includes interview and report statements made by the previous employers of the Flaum Appetizing Corporation as well as other parties that possess information that is relevant to this particular study.

III. Interviews

According to one report, the employees who were fired state that they worked as much as "80 hours a week for minimum wage with no overtime…" (Parks, 2010) One interviewed employee states as follows:

"I worked 11 years for that company and I never received a dollar of overtime or one holiday or one sick day, nothing," said Gustino Romero, 32, of Bushwick. "I worked from 7 in the morning until 10 or 11 at night. ... We always asked for [overtime], but they said no." (Parks, 2010)

Another employee who was interviewed is reported to have stated as follows:

"The manager called us cockroaches, tarantulas, all kinds of offensive names. The truth is we were unfairly exploited." (Maria Corona, 36, of Williamsburg, said frequent insults from her boss made the situation worse) (Parks, 2010)

It is reported that at the time the workers made an attempt to form and union and to go on a brief strike, sometime in 2008, that company management "ordered them off the Flaum premises - a move the National Labor Relations Board ruled was illegal retaliation." (Parks, 20100)

When the owner of the company was interviewed he is reported to have stated: "he always paid required overtime and insisted he told the workers not to come back because he discovered they were in the U.S. illegally." (Parks, 2010) According to Grunhut: "I treat my workers with respect and dignity." (Parks, 2010) Grunhut blames the unions for making the situation such an issue and has requested that the NLRB "…let him off the hook for the back pay, and the two sides are scheduled to appear before the board again Dec. 8." (Parks, 2010)

Efrem (2010) reports that "Juan Romero emigrated from Mexico in 2005 and worked at Flaum for three-and-a-half years before he was fired" and that Romero stated as follows:

"We were really worried being without work. We didn't have money, and we couldn't even pay the rent. I did receive support from the union to make it through, but… we were really desperate after we got fired," (Efrem, 2010)

Romero is reported to send a large amount of his pay back to his family at home and states that he is "…disturbed by the Jewish community's response to the plight of the discharged workers" (Efrem, 2010) specifically stating as follows:

"It's frustrating when I hear, 'All we care about is that we get our food, and we're not interested in anything else,' [The American legal system] should protect us more and not be in favor of the companies that are making money off of us. "I don't think this is about principles for Flaum. I think it's all about the money, and that's why I think we will prevail, because for us it's all about dignity, and in the fight between money and dignity, dignity wins." (Efrem, 2010)

IV. Actions Taken to Address the Problem

It is reported that the workers have held protests at kosher supermarkets that sell Flaum's pickles, as well as hummus and other products and have additionally gained the cooperation of an Orthodox Jewish group to keep the pressure on Grunhut. According to Ari Hart, cofounder of Uri L 'Tzdek which means "Awaken to Justice": "The Torah talks in multiple places about how it's really important to pay a worker the worker's full wages and respect a worker…" (Brandworkers International, 2010) The effects of the actions of Flaum Appetizing Corporation includes such as the following:

(1) The Park Slope Food Co-op has banned Flaum Appetizing Corporation Products (Brandworkers International, 2010);

(2) Flaum Appetizing has been dropped by Prominent Market due to workers' rights concerns (Brandworkers International, 2010).

It is reported that after the IWWW first contacted the workers in 2007 that they were offered "…holidays and office perks, like a water cooler and refrigerator." (Brandworkers International, 2010) The workers were also threatened the workers with problems with immigration should they unionize and the workers were also called into the office by Flaum administrators "…, one by one, and asked for signatures on a release form that would offer $375 for settling the issue without a lawsuit." (Brandworkers International, 2010) One worker was fired due to participating in union activities and when the other workers held a protest against her having been fired those 16 employees were also fired.

V. NLRB Hearing

A NLRB hearing took place in the fall of 2008 and the findings of the NLRB included that Flaum was in violation of the national Labor Relations Act on worker's rights. The ruling handed down ordered Flaum to reinstate the workers and to pay them the back pay however, Flaum, after having lost on appeal, "has refused to comply with the orders." (Efrem, 2010) A hearing held September 21 involved the NLRB outlining the back pay owed to each employee stated at a total of approximately $230,000.00. Flaum refused to engage in any discussions with Brandworkers International who joined the IWW in the dispute. The neighborhood of Grunhut's was the location of a workers' protest during the summer. (Efrem, 2010, paraphrased)