BIG BIG VICTORY AT GOLDEN FARM!

The Golden Farm workers have a contract!

The boycott is over!

Thanks for sending us the announcement of this excellent news, Occupy Kensington.

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The Golden Farm workers have a contract!

Almost 2 years after it first started, the boycott of Golden Farm is over!

Join the workers for a celebration BBQ on Saturday, 6/28, at 8 pm, at 351 E 4th St.

The contract includes paid sick days, holidays, and vacation time and a small raise which takes their pay above the minimum wage for the first time. It also includes a "good cause" clause, which requires that there be a reason for firing an employee and the right of the workers to have active union representation (something the owner, Sonny Kim, deeply objected to for the last two years).

This victory is a testimony to the determination of the Golden Farm workers, the support they received from their union, RWDSU Local 338, and from our community.

Thank you for your support.

The workers asked that we pass on these messages to the Kensington community.

"We the workers of Golden Farm thank you for all your help, thank you for your time on the picket line. Above all thank you for making this campaign a dream come true - a campaign that nobody stopped, only victory." Yours Truly Martin Gonzalez

"Hi, My name is Roberto and in the name of my co-workers from Golden Farm we greet you most sincerely and thank you very much to everyone of you for the unconditional help. This victory is also yours. Thank you to everyone and God bless you."

Occupy Kensington would also like to thank everyone who supported the boycott by not shopping there but also for all the other acts of support:

Thank you to everyone who spoke to Mr Kim or his manager expressing their support for the workers.

Thank you to the lady who went on vacation and left a note for her apartment sitter telling her where the best local takeouts were and NOT to shop in Golden Farm. (The sitter stopped by our picket line to find out why).

Thank you to the local graphic designer who made us very cool buttons and the teenage Hasidic rapper who composed a song for the workers.

Thank you to everyone who contributed to the support fund for Felix's wife and children after he died and everyone who contributed to the Xmas toy drive for the worker's kids.

Thank you to the local blogger who wrote reviews of alternative places to buy good fruit and vegetables.

Thank you to the dedicated few who chalked the word BOYCOTT on the sidewalk day after day.

Thank you to everyone who joined us in front of the store for pickets or rallies and to everyone who stopped by to get updates and find out how the campaign was going.

And thanks also to the members of the Green Party, Socialist Alternative, Occuevolve, and OWS Labor Outreach Committee who helped us sustain the pickets over the course of the last 2 years and to the Rude Mechanical Orchestra for visiting us several times.


What next?

The boycott is over. For the workers in Golden Farm, the struggle continues. They have a contract; now they must ensure that Mr Kim abides by it. Occupy Kensington will continue to be in contact with the workers and let Mr. Kim know that our community continues to take an interest in their situation.

Occupy Kensington continues to meet, discuss, and campaign on issues both local and further afield. We have recently gotten involved with the $15 Now campaign, which is pushing for raising the minimum wage to $15.

In Seattle, they have already succeeded. San Francisco will vote on $15 this fall. In Chicago, 21 city aldermen have put forward a call for $15. In NY, it looks as if politicians at the city and state level are moving towards $10.10 statewide with a possibility of NYC being higher, at a maximum of $13.30. We think we should aim higher.

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To read about the history of this years-long labor dispute--including attempts at intimidation and efforts to pit immigrant groups against each other--visit the blog "Kensington Community Supporting Justice for Golden Farm Workers" at goldenfarmjustice.wordpress.com.

If you'd like to join a neighborhood group to get involved in workers' rights struggles and other significant issues of our time, see Occupy Kensington's Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Occupy-Kensington/513510922042949.

15now.org, whose mission is to have the minimum wage set at $15 per hour, has a New York City branch, 15 Now NYC. Its Facebook page is at https://www.facebook.com/15NOWNYC.

POSTPONEMENT OF HEARING FOR GOLDEN FARM EMPLOYEES

UPDATE: The hearing has been postponed until Wednesday, January 29th, at 9:00 a.m.

Golden Farm employees won't have "their day in court" for another two weeks. The complaint filed by their union* against their employer--for failure to negotiate a work contract in good faith--won't be heard by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) until Wednesday, January 29th, at 9:00 a.m., on the fifth floor of 2 Metrotech.

* Local 338 of RWDSU/UFCW (Retail, Wholesale, Department Store Union/United Food and Commercial Workers)

"THEIR DAY IN COURT" FOR GOLDEN FARM WORKERS

UPDATE: The hearing has been postponed until Wednesday, January 29th, at 9:00 a.m.

Good faith on the part of Golden Farm's owner has been conspicuously absent during negotiations for a job contract between him and his employees. So states the complaint that the union* representing those employees filed with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

The union, since November 2012, has been trying to negotiate a fair contract between the two parties--owner Sonny Kim and union members who work in Golden Farm. In August 2013, after nine months of negotiations, the union filed the Unfair Labor Practice complaint.

The NLRB has determined that the complaint has merit. It has scheduled a hearing for this Wednesday at 9:00 a.m. on the fifth floor of 2 Metrotech. See the map for the building's location and for travel directions. The hearing is open to the public.

* Local 338 of RWDSU/UFCW (Retail, Wholesale, Department Store Union/United Food and Commercial Workers)

SCABBY HAS LEFT THE BUILDING

Scabby the Rat has left his post in front of Golden Farm. He's been called to Jackson Heights, where his presence is urgently needed in support of supermarket workers.

Scabby regrets leaving Kensington in the midst of the boycott against Golden Farm, but he's confident that the good people of Kensington will continue to boycott until the employees, through their union*, get a fair contract with their employer.

Scabby is hoping that the temperature in Queens is higher than in Brooklyn, since he'll continue to be outdoors all day.


* The majority of Golden Farm employees voted in May 2012 to join Local 338, RWDSU/UFCW (Retail, Wholesale, Department Store Union/United Food and Commercial Workers.  The store owner's lawyer unsuccessfully challenged the results. The workers got union recognition in September 2012.

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Last August, RWDSU/UFCW filed an Unfair Labor Practice complaint with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) against the owner of Golden Farm for not negotiating a contract in good faith. The NLRB will hold a court hearing on the complaint, probably in late January.

RALLY TOMORROW FOR EMPLOYEES OF GOLDEN FARM

Rally and March for Golden Farm Employees

Sunday, September 15th, 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Join in the next significant event in the history of the Golden Farm employees' struggle for fair treatment and a fair contract negotiated by their employer and their union (Local 338 of the RWDSU/UFCW (Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union / United Food and Commercial Workers International Union).

Occupy Kensington, Rude Mechanical Orchestra, Brooklyn Greens, Brooklyn Socialist Alternative, 99 Pickets, New York Communities for Change, and Occuevolve will participate in a rally to show support for the employees. It starts at 5:00 p.m. tomorrow (Sunday) in Kensington Plaza, at the intersection of Church Avenue and Beverley Road, in front of Walgreens.

At 5:45, everyone will march to Golden Farm, at the corner of Church Ave. and E. 5th Street. Events will wrap up at 7:00 p.m.

Additional information is posted at http://goldenfarmjustice.wordpress.com.

TIME FOR ANOTHER RALLY FOR THE GOLDEN FARM WORKERS

Rally for Golden Farm Workers

Sunday, September 15th, 5:00 p.m.

in

Kensington Plaza

(on Beverley Road by McDonald Avenue,

 in front of Walgreens)
 

Followed by a march to Golden Farm.

UNION THAT EMPLOYEES VOTED FOR IS PICKETING GOLDEN FARM

Local 338 of the RWDSU/UFCW (Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union / United Food and Commercial Workers International Union) is walking the picket line outside of Golden Farm in support of the relaunched shoppers' boycott. The notorious, inflatable Scabby the Rat has joined them.

Back in March 2012, eligible Golden Farm employees (the floorworkers/shelf-stockers, but not the cashiers) participated in an election supervised by the National Labor Relations Board. The majority of them voted in favor of having RWDSU be their collective bargaining representative.

The union and Golden Farm's owner, Sonil Kim, have been meeting since November 2012 to negotiate a contract that both the owner and the union feel is fair. While the process drags on and on with this particular store, store owners elsewhere in Brooklyn and in other boroughs have negotiated contracts with the union that have been to everyone's satisfaction. It can be done. It has been done.

In the meantime, during the boycott and picketing, honor the picket line by buying good-looking, good-tasting fruit and vegetables at good prices at New McDonald Fruit Corner, just three blocks west of Golden Farm. It's on the triangular street whose sides are on Church, Beverley, and E. 2nd Street, across from Walgreens. The store is under new management. 

New McDonald Fruit Corner
130 Church Avenue, at E. 2nd Street and Beverley Road
(718) 972-7402


http://goldenfarmjustice.wordpress.com 

SUPER-LOW PRICES ON PRODUCE

With the return of the boycott of Golden Farm, shoppers are looking for somewhere else to buy quality produce at good prices.

Well, look no further than New McDonald Fruit Corner , the produce store on the triangle at Church Avenue, E. 2nd Street, and Beverley Road. The store also sells milk, bread, snacks, juice, and other groceries.

Sweet nectarines only cost 49 cents a pound.

Red plums--also only 49 cents a pound.

59 cents a pound for yellow bananas.

A dry pint of blueberries costs a low 99 cents.

Just 99 cents a pound for red seedless grapes.

Mmm, plum tomatoes. 99 cents a pound.

THE RETURN OF THE BOYCOTT OF GOLDEN FARM

Relaunch the Boycott of Golden Farm

Saturday, August 10th, 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Workers in Brooklyn's markets are organizing to get contracts that will provide them with benefits and just wages.

Unfortunately, at Golden Farm, month after month of contract negotiations between the employees--represented by the union they voted to join--and the store's owner, Sonny Kim, have not been successful. They have not led to agreement on terms that will be fair to all parties.

You, the members of the Kensington community, are invited to a combination press conference, rally, and party outside of Golden Farm as the boycott is relaunched. The hope is that the boycott will lead to Mr. Kim trying harder to reach an agreement with his employees through their union.

Meet at Golden Farm, 329 Church Avenue, at the corner of E. 4th Street, on Saturday at 2:00 p.m.

A NOTE ABOUT THE TEMPORARY SUSPENSION OF THE GOLDEN FARM BOYCOTT

There will be a more detailed update available soon, but for boycotters heading back to Golden Farm to shop, this is what you need to know.

The contract is almost agreed on. One major sticking point is that the workers need their hours reinstated. (Owner Sonny Kim cut their shifts last August in retaliation for the boycott.) Mr. Kim's position is that the workers won't get their hours back until his customers come back.

The workers' concern is that with the boycott called off, no pressure is being put on Mr. Kim to keep his side of the deal. So they are asking returning shoppers to keep a log of their purchases (or, better still, keep the receipts). If he hasn't reinstated their hours within a month, they can a) show him that they know his business has returned and b) demonstrate that the returning customers are very aware of what they are doing and are prepared to boycott again if he doesn't keep his side of the bargain.

PROGRESS! GOLDEN FARM BOYCOTT TEMPORARILY SUSPENDED

Boycott Temporarily Suspended! by goldenfarmjustice   One giant step closer for the Golden Farm workers! Victory is within our reach! Workers have informed us that the union (RWDSU/UFCW Local 338) and the owner of Golden Farm had a long and very productive negotiating session today (3/22). Therefore, we are happy/relieved/excited to announce that the Golden Farm boycott is TEMPORARILY suspended to facilitate a swift and successful contract negotiation and the resolution of any other outstanding issues.  This has been a long and hard struggle. The first time Golden Farm workers organized for their rights was in 2008 when they contacted the NY Department of Labor; and the first time workers organized with the community for a rally at the store was December 2011. The workers called for a community boycott on August 18, 2012 and for seven months the community has responded and refused to shop at a store where employees do not have the respect, dignity and basic benefits that everyone deserves on the job. Workers and the union believe that at this particular juncture in negotiations a temporary suspension of the boycott will bring us closer than ever to the goals the workers set out for themselves. The community will respond by temporarily cancelling picket lines with the hope and understanding that the suspension of the boycott will bring the workers closer to their victory. It is our hope that the next action at Golden Farm will be a grand reopening of the store, with a giant red ribbon, even bigger scissors and more confetti than the corner of Church Ave and East 4th has ever seen! STAY TUNED! [Posted by request of Kensington Community Supporting Justice For Golden Farm Workers]

NO RALLY TOMORROW

The rally at Golden Farm that was scheduled for tomorrow (Saturday) has been cancelled because of the blizzard that's headed our way.

GOLDEN FARM EMPLOYEES ADDRESS THE COMMUNITY'S QUESTIONS

UPDATE: The rally scheduled for Saturday has been cancelled because of the blizzard.

This video is posted on the blog Kensington Community Supporting Justice For Golden Farm Workers and on YouTube.

In this video, four Golden Farm employees answer the questions that have been most frequently asked about their particular situation and the boycott. They're determined to win a fair union contract as well as get the work hours reinstated that they lost when the store owner cut them on August 17, 2012. The union and the store owner will negotiate again on February 12th.

A picket line operates Mondays through Fridays, from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., and Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 7:00 p.m. This Saturday, a rally with the Brooklyn Green Party and the Brooklyn Food Coalition will take place outside of the store at 1:00 p.m.

Golden Farm is at 329 Church Avenue, on the northwest corner of E. 4th Street,  in Kensington.

HOW MUCH DON'T YOU SPEND AT GOLDEN FARM?

_________________________________________________

Dear Sonny Kim:

I support workers at Golden Farm.

Before the boycott, I spent about $______ per week at

the store.

When you sign a fair contract with the workers I will come

back to shop at Golden Farm.

Sincerely,

Name: __________________________________

99 Pickets & Occupy Kensington // 99pickets.org

_________________________________________________

If you're boycotting Golden Farm, let Sonny Kim, the owner, know how much money you no longer spend there each week. And that you'll be back in the store, cash (or plastic) in hand, after he negotiates a fair union contract.

The boycott, requested by Golden Farm employees, has caused a 50% drop in sales on peak days (Thanksgiving Eve, Christmas Eve), some store employees have estimated. Boycotters want the owner to

• sign a fair union contract with the employees and include paid sick days,
• restore employees' work hours that the owner cut illegally in retaliation for employees organizing, and
• reinstate employees who were fired in retaliation for organizing.

To help, just fill out a paper card like the one shown above (get it from a picketer) or an online form.

A neighborhood delegation will deliver the cards to Mr. Kim.

This "pledge drive" is brought to you by 99 Pickets and Occupy Kensington.

TOY AND CLOTHING DRIVE FOR KIDS OF GOLDEN FARM EMPLOYEES

The work hours of several Golden Farm employees were cut in August after they voted to join a union and supported a boycott of the store. Their reduced incomes have to be spent on the necessities of life, so they would appreciate help from their neighbors in giving their kids decent presents for Christmas.

The employees and their children are

• Javier: He and his wife have 3 daughters whose ages are 1, 3, and 7.
• Antonino: He and his wife have 2-year-old twin sons, and they're expecting a girl in early 2013.
• Anastasia: The widow of Felix, who died of cancer this summer, has a 7-year-old daughter and a 4-year-old son.

These kids will be so happy to get clothing and toys.

A neighbor has put a large box on her front porch for donations. Bring new or gently-used clothing and toys to 308 East 4th Street, just around the corner from Golden Farm, and put your gifts in the box.

http://goldenfarmjustice.wordpress.com
Twitter @BoycottGF #boycottGF

MEMORIAL FOR VICTIMS OF BANGLADESH FACTORY FIRE, FOLLOWED BY PROTEST OUTSIDE GOLDEN FARM OVER WAGES AND HOURS

Elected Officials, Bangladeshi Community to Hold Memorial 

for 112 Workers Killed in Fire at Garment Factory in Bangladesh

Group will show solidarity with workers 

of neighboring supermarket fighting for better wages 

and working conditions by protesting outside of store 

WHAT            Memorial for 112 workers killed in fire at garment factory in Bangladesh and protest of working conditions at Golden Farm Supermarket in Brooklyn

WHO:             Bangladeshi community leaders and members

                        Councilmember Brad Lander

                        Elected officials

                        United NY

                        Golden Farm Supermarket workers

                        Community members

WHEN:           Saturday, December 15 at 5:30 PM

WHERE:         Corner of McDonald Avenue and Church Avenue, Kensington, Brooklyn

                        http://goo.gl/maps/naJrm

WHY:             Last month, 112 workers were killed in a fire at a Bangladeshi garment factory that exposed the poor working conditions of foreign low-wage workers making garments for brand name American companies that supplied goods to Walmart. It was later exposed that Walmart blocked efforts to make retailers pay more for the garments in order to improve electrical and fire safety in the factories.

                        Brooklyn community members have been boycotting Kensington’s Golden Farm Supermarket, another low-wage employer.  Workers at the grocery store have reported being paid as little as $4.62 an hour, for working 72 hours a week.  The boycott began in July, following the death of store employee Felix Trinidad, who succumbed to cancer, after being unable to take time off to see a doctor.

                        Low-wage workers in NYC are uniting to fight back against economic exploitation, with fast food workers being the latest to join airport, car wash and supermarket workers in organizing for better pay and respect on the job. 

-----from the office of City Councilmember Brad Lander

GOLDEN FARM AND THE LOW-WAGE WORKERS MOVEMENT

                                    Public Meeting: Golden Farm/Immigrant Worker's Organizing
                                                                      Speaker: Immanuel Ness
                                                           Thursday, December 13th, 8:00 p.m.

From Occupy Kensington and Golden Farm Justice:

The Golden Farm workers' courageous effort is part of a citywide movement that has been going on over the past decade made up of low-wage workers, many of them new immigrants, to stand up against the rampant exploitation that takes place in many industries and demand that they be treated fairly, legally, and decently as valued workers and members of our communities.

Meet workers and find out more about the vibrant new wave of organizing that's taking place in Kensington and beyond with Professor Immanuel Ness of Brooklyn College and the CUNY Graduate Center for Worker Education and author of Immigrants, Unions, and the New U. S. Labor Market. Professor Ness has been actively documenting these important and exciting developments for the past 15 years and has much to share about the history of workers and communities coming together in the fight for fairness—where we have come from and where we can go together.

           309 East 5th Street, between Church Avenue and Albemarle Road

                  Sponsored by Occupy Kensington and Golden Farm Justice
                                      goldenfarmjustice.wordpress.com

SUPPORTERS OF THE GOLDEN FARM BOYCOTT OUT IN FORCE

Golden Farm workers and their supporters picketed Golden Farm on Thanksgiving Eve to demand back pay and a union contract for the employees. Without a union contract, workers can easily be fired.

NEW BLOG ABOUT GOLDEN FARM EMPLOYEES

Kensington Community Supporting Justice For Golden Farm Workers is the name of the newly-created blog that supports Golden Farm employees in their long-standing wage, hour, and benefits battle against their employer, Sonny Kim. Mr. Kim is scheduled to sit down with the employees' union next week. The meeting between the employer and the union was mandated by the National Labor Relations Board after it certified the results of the employees' vote in favor of unionizing with Local 338 of the Retail, Wholesale Department Store Union, United Food and Commercial Workers (RWDSU/UFCW).

THE TORAH AND THE BOYCOTT OF GOLDEN FARM

"Shopping at Golden Farm:
Is There a Jewish Obligation to Boycott Unethical Businesses?"

Sunday, October 21st, 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.

The Flatbush Jewish Center's rabbi supports the Golden Farm employees' struggle for justice and the need for paid sick days for low-wage workers in this city.

At the synagogue's Torah Breakfast Club this Sunday, an employee of Golden Farm will offer his perspective about the store's ongoing and current employer-employee battles. The monthly breakfasts are an occasion for Rabbi David Siff to teach about contemporary social issues from a Torah perspective.

• What exactly are the aggrieved workers' complaints, as well as the management's position on those issues? 
• To what extent is a consumer responsible for the business practices of stores s/he patronizes?  
• Wow unethical must a business be for it to be unethical to patronize it?
• Has Golden farms crossed that line?

Prior to the breakfast, on Wednesday evening (tomorrow), the Center will show the movie "A Late Marriage," which serves as a prelude to Sunday's conversation.  The Israeli comedy about Georgian immigrants in Israel will run from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

The price of of Wednesday's light dinner is $5.  Same price for the bagel breakfast. 

Babysitting will be provided at both events.

Flatbush Jewish Center, in the Hanid Room
327 E. 5th Street, at the corner of Church Avenue
Kensington, Brooklyn

phone: (718) 871-5200
fax: (718) 871-5204 
e-mail: fandstjc @ verizon.net

http://www.flatbushjewishcenter.org
https://www.facebook.com/FlatbushJewishCenter

Rabbi's blog: http://rompinrabbi.blogspot.com

calendar of events: http://www.flatbushjewishcenter.org/index.php?p=50