Two And a Half Years Later, NYC Workers Win Wage-Theft Case

[Omaha Steve]

Two And a Half Years Later, NYC Workers Win Wage-Theft Case

Saturday February 13 11:45 am

By Adam Case

After an intense two-year struggle, a federal bankruptcy court approved on Tuesday a $340,000 settlement to 23 workers at Wild Edibles—New York City’s leading seafood provider.

Employees at Wild Edibles alleged that management retaliated against individuals who were demanding overtime and back pay. “There was a lot intimidation,” says Raymundo Lara Molina, a former Wild Edibles employee. "Wild Edibles filed a court case, suing us for $4.5 million, alleging this was the money they were losing because of our campaign.”

The company alleged that the workers' campaign amounted to a conspiracy to commit extortion, but all charges against workers were dismissed.

In August 2007, workers demanded overtime wages owed to them by the seafood distributor, with support from members of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), Brandworkers International, a nonprofit dedicated to labor rights in the food service industry, as well as many other New York-based organizations. Scores of city restaurants ended up boycotting Wild Edibles.

“We received support from a diverse array of community groups and that gave us a big boost over a long and protracted campaign,” says Daniel Gross, a Brandworkers International organizer.

A founding director of Brandworkers International, Gross was one of the initial organizer of the Starbucks Workers Union, an IWW initiative to improve labor conditions for employees at the coffee chain.

FULL story at link.

[aquart]

1. That was quick.

Everyone involved was still alive.