Garden Manor workers voted that day 17 to 4 in favor of joining United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) Local 342. Ten other ballots cast were challenged either by the union or the company, leaving the UFCW backers with a majority no matter what the verdict on the votes in dispute.

Jimenez served as the observer at the ballot box during the election. He said the efforts by the owners to undercut the organizing drive continued up to the last minute. “One boss had his son come in to vote!” he said. “I had never seen him before. He came in to vote and told us what his name was.” His vote was one of the 10 being challenged.

The union immediately began spreading the message of this victory to the hundreds of meat packers in the market, a 60-acre complex that is home to 47 meat companies, most of which are not yet organized.

Two days after the election union officials passed out flyers to workers in many of the other shops at Hunts Point. “UFCW Local 342 has BIG VICTORY at GARDEN MANOR FARMS!” read the headline of the flyer, which was published in English and Spanish. “The workers at Garden Manor refused to let their bosses cheat them out of their legal right to have a union and voted on May 4th to join Local 342 and get their first union contract,” the flyer said.

“Additionally, Local 342 thanks all of its members in the Market for their support and encouragement to the Garden Manor workers’ cause. It makes a big difference! Increasing our membership in the market increases the bargaining strength for all Market workers!

“So if any Local 342 members run into one of the workers from Garden Manor, shake their hand and tell them welcome to Local 342!”

In July of 2003 Garden Manor Farms workers carried out a one-week strike to protest company efforts to stall the union representation election. Workers from various shops in the market came over during their lunch breaks to show support for the workers in their efforts.

Copies of the flyers were hand-distributed to workers in various shops and extra copies left in some of the coffee shops in the market. Two were taped to the wall outside the bank in the market where many workers go to cash their checks on Fridays.

Amid handshakes and congratulatory hugs outside the plant, workers expressed their gratitude to Raffy Castillo, staff organizer for UFCW Local 342, for his help in the more than one-year effort. “It was you guys who did it,” said Castillo. “It was because you guys stood together you were able to win.”

Jimenez said workers would meet almost daily at the restaurant next to their shop. “We would all the time be telling the guys, ‘stay together, stay together,’” he said. “When the bosses started offering people things, talking to them like they were going to start treating them good we told them: ‘Don’t let the boss confuse you. Before 342 came in here they didn’t do anything for you. Keep together, keep strong, and we will get a contract.’”

In the course of the organizing drive the company attempted to derail the unionization effort by bringing in a “union” they claimed was already representing workers in the plant.

The vast majority of the production workers saw through the ruse and refused to sign on. One worker reported that only seven people, including clerical workers, signed up with Local 210—the company “union.”

Another challenge the workers confronted was the company use of temporary workers at the plant to avoid hiring workers as full-time employees. These would start at $5.15 an hour. Jiménez said the company raised the pay for some of the temporary workers to $8.50 or $9 an hour after the union-organizing drive got underway to induce them to vote in favor of the company.

“These temporary workers aren’t stupid,” said Jimenez. “One of the guys who was always quiet told me he knew Local 210 was false, that it didn’t care about the workers, it cares about the company. He never saw a representative from 210. He always saw the Local 342 reps meeting with the workers, talking about the union benefits. That was the reason most of the temporary workers voted for the union. They were quiet because they are not in a position to talk about the union or they could be fired, but at the bottom of their hearts they knew they had to vote for Local 342 because that is their future.”

The election was organized as a choice between UFCW Local 342 and the company Local 210.

Workers report the company responded to the union victory with a speed-up effort in the days following the election. A job involving boxing beef top rounds coming off the butcher table is usually done with three workers. The day after the election the boss insisted one worker do the job. This worker ended up being sent to the hospital with a possible broken arm.

The new union members are now preparing to initiate negotiations with the company for their first contract.

Don Mackle is a member of UFCW Local 342 and works in the Hunts Point Meat Market.  
 
 
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