A strike vote by the workers the previous day was unanimous, according to UFCW Local 174 business agent Frank Kissel.

Plaut & Stern has also kept 11 of the 24 hourly workers there from joining the union, strikers say, some for as long as three years. Workers at the plant come from Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Poland, Germany, and Yugoslavia. All but one of these workers joined the action, setting up a spirited picket line outside the gate of the giant market, where about 1,000 workers cut and process much of the meat sold in the New York area.

Workers at most of the Hunts Point shops are organized by UFCW Local 174, some by the Teamsters, and others are nonunion. At Plaut & Stern, workers cut and bone beef quarters, mostly for provision houses in the metropolitan area.

Word of the strike immediately spread to other shops in the market. The strike became a big discussion among the 50 UFCW members at B. Rosen & Sons, Inc., located next door to Plaut & Stern. About half of the Rosen workers joined the picket line for at least part of their lunch break, as did about 10 workers at Hanau Meat Company, Inc., another UFCW-organized plant in the market.

"This is an example for all the meat co-op workers, all [Local] 174 members, 'cause if they can do this to us, your boss can do it to you," Alberto Medina told the assembled crowd. Medina recently became the shop steward at Plaut & Stern. Meanwhile, trucks entering and leaving the market and carloads of workers ending early shifts honked their horns or stopped to express solidarity.

One of the Rosen workers, Marvin Ramírez, summed up the spirit of solidarity at the action. "We came out here to support and give a hand to our people, to be together," he stated.

Strikers continued their job action Monday, November 1, joined again by workers from Hanau, Rosen, and elsewhere in the market, amidst verified reports that the company had hired two nonunion butchers for production beginning that day.

Mitchel Rosenberg is a member of UFCW Local 174 at B. Rosen.  
 
 
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