Deep Foods Workers Vote to Unionize

On Monday [March 7], the workers at Chetak New York ‒ a distribution warehouse based in Edison, New Jersey, owned by Indian food manufacturers Deep Foods ‒ finally approved a resolution to join a union for the first time in their history.

The voting took place under the supervision of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and occurred in two shifts ‒ morning and afternoon. Work was not suspended to hold the vote.

The results were tight, “but considering what they have suffered, it is a good result,” said a Local 262 activist referring to Deep Food’s recent layoff of four employees. The DOL subsequently ordered the company to allow the men to return to work. In February, Reporte Hispano wrote about the case, which is still pending in court.

The results showed 28 votes in favor of organizing, 24 against, and two votes were contested, for a total of 54 eligible voters, according to Region 22 of the National Labor Relations Board’s tally of ballots, to which Reporte Hispano had access.

It is worth noting that 90 percent of the employees at Chetak are Latino immigrants and parents, who by taking this step are fighting to improve their working conditions.

“It’s going to be better for us now,” said a worker who chose not to be identified. “We expect to have better benefits and salaries in the future.”

Another employee, Ricardo Vidal-Guzmán, said that joining a union is a victory for the workers and that he hopes they will now be able to negotiate with the company to obtain some benefits. “Let’s see what the future holds,” he said cautiously. “For now, the results were good for us.”

The workers are now part of Local 262 of the RWDSU (Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union) and, aside from their salary, health insurance, paid holidays and overtime, they hope to be able to negotiate more humane treatment.

Outside the warehouse, Local 262 President Tom Walsh danced for joy. “It is exciting to see how this brave group of workers chose to join us to improve their lives and the lives of their families. We are proud that they will now be a part of our family, which is the Union. I was deeply impressed with their courage and solidarity, and it will be a privilege to represent them.”

Local 262 also represents the workers at Flexon, in Newark; G&W Labs, in South Plainfield; Ce De Candy, in Union; and White Conveyor, in Kenilworth, all in New Jersey.

The RWDSU union operates at a national level and has represented workers for 75 years in a wide range of industries, including but not limited to retail, grocery stores, poultry processing, dairy processing, cereal processing, soda bottlers, bakeries, health care, hotels, warehouses and distribution.

According to the website of the AFL-CIO union ‒ with which the RWDSU is affiliated ‒ unionized Latino workers make 51 percent more in earnings than those who are not. Women make 34 percent more than non-union female workers, while the advantage among African-Americans is 31 percent and 21 percent among white workers.

*This story was translated to English from Spanish by Voices of NY.