Unionists support Stella D’Oro workers, jobs

The workers at Stella D’Oro bakery in the Bronx, who won an 11-month strike in July only to face a vicious threat by the company’s hedge fund owners to sell off or shut the plant this October, got a strong show of support at a major union meeting on Aug. 31 in New York City.

Local 375 of District Council 37 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees hosted the solidarity meeting. It was attended by leaders of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 3; Service Employees Local 1199; New York State United Teachers/Nassau County; the Professional Staff Congress of the City University of New York; the Take Back Our Union caucus of the Transport Workers union; the Million Worker March Movement; and others.

Mike Filippou, Bakery Workers Local 50 chief steward at Stella D’Oro, declared that after “a very hard strike,” the Stella D’Oro workers “are not going to accept closing the plant in 90 days.” He said “much more support” is needed from the labor movement and the community as the workers fight to keep their jobs and the plant in the Bronx.

Mike Gimbel, chair of the Labor-Community Unity Committee of Local 375, introduced the local’s president, Claude Fort, who said his local is committed to supporting the Stella D’Oro workers and will “lobby” others in DC 37 to follow suit. Fort also made a strong push for the Sept. 20 national March for Jobs in Pittsburgh, which his union supports. Gimbel explained that the Stella D’Oro workers are waging the key labor struggle in New York City now, and are part of the larger struggle for jobs, for immigrant rights and against racism.

Gimbel, Fort and Gavrielle Gemma, who chaired the meeting, encouraged people to link the struggle to save jobs at Stella D’Oro to the Sept. 20 national March for Jobs in Pittsburgh. Participants were impressed to hear of expanding labor movement support for the March for Jobs. Gemma noted that in addition to support from the Steelworkers union and the United Electrical Workers union, numerous local unions are mobilizing.

Benny Arana, business agent for IBEW Local 3, and Beth Borzone of the New York State Teachers brought greetings from their unions. Maria Kercado, vice president of the Service Workers Local 1199, declared that the Stella D’Oro struggle is at the top of the agenda for the citywide labor movement.

Both IBEW Local 3 and SEIU Local 1199 have committed substantial resources to mobilize support for the Stella D’Oro struggle at the New York City Labor Day March on Sept. 12. Lenny Dick of the PSC at CUNY declared that the PSC would bring placards in solidarity with the Stella D’Oro workers to the Labor Day March.

Other notable speakers were John Coombs, president of the Vulcan Society, an association of African-American firefighters who are currently waging a struggle against entrenched racism in the New York City Fire Department; Steve Kindred from the Stella D’Oro Strike Support Committee; and Teresa Gutierrez, coordinator of the May 1 Coalition for Workers and Immigrants Rights.

Gutierrez highlighted Local 375 for including the immigrant workers’ coalition in its 2008 Labor Day contingent. She also noted the immigrant workers’ achievement in reawakening the tradition of May Day with a gigantic national one-day strike on May 2006, heralding a new spirit together with the new demographics in today’s working class. She declared that the May 1 Coalition is solidly behind the Stella D’Oro workers, with the slogan “A victory for one is a victory for all!”