| Author | Message | ||
     Johnnymceldoo |
Last week, a federal judge ordered Stella D’oro to reinstate 134 workers after a protracted 10-month strike. This week, the company invited the workers back. It also announced that it would close the factory in October. The decision to close Stella D’oro’s only factory, which is based in the Kingsbridge section of the Bronx, was made by Brynwood Partners, the private equity company based in Greenwich, Conn., which bought the company in 2006. “The decision to close the Bronx bakery operations has not been made in haste or without significant planning,” a statement from the management said. Operations will be moved elsewhere and the products would continue, the statement said. The workers had gone on strike on strike last Aug. 14, two weeks after their contract had expired. The owners maintained that the hourly wages of $18 to $22 an hour and nine weeks of paid leave made the factory unprofitable. It demanded significant reductions in wages and benefits in order to move the factory to profitability. Last week, an administrative law judge with the National Labor Relations Board in Washington found that the company had improperly refused to bargain with the union by declining to provide the union with a copy of its 2007 audited financial statement. The union representing the workers — Local 50 of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers — was alerted by a letter from Daniel J. Myers, Stella D’oro’s chief operating officer under the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, also know as the WARN Act, which requires that mass layoffs have at least 60 days notice. Under the legislation, the workers might be eligible to receive unemployment insurance benefits, job retraining, and re-employment services. Stella D’oro was founded in New York in 1932 by an Italian immigrant, Angela Kresevich, and her husband, Joseph, and became known for its brand of lightly sweetened Italian baked goods. The company was sold in 1992 to Nabisco and then to Kraft, before it was bought by Brynwood Partners. At the point the family sold the company, it employed 575 people with 1991 sales of $65 million. http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/06/stell a-doro-factory-to-close-in-october/?hp I know the cost of living in New York is high but 18-22 per hour around here can afford decent living. 9 weeks paid leave? Our max is 15 days and we are fighting to stay afloat. | ||
| Froggy |
I would love a 9 week paid vacation right around Buelltoberfest....  | ||
| Gunut75 |
9 weeks paid leave?! I'm in the wrong effin business! | ||
| Court |
. . . and accounts for one of the best smelling neighborhoods, after the Domino Sugar Factory on the East River closed, as you drive around NYC. The union played hardball and the owners simply decided to pick up their toys and leave. Look at this statement:
You are comparing:
You. to make a meaningful comparison, MUST compare the WAGES with the AREA. You'll soon be able to buy Canadian Stella D’oro. Unions have rights. Cool. So do owners. I've been following this for a bit and it's been interesting. There have been several other BIG moves . . Domino, The New York Times and others. Trying to manufacture in a city where starter homes sell for $500,000+ is tough. | ||
| Greenlantern |
I know the cost of living in New York is high but 18-22 per hour around here can afford decent living. 9 weeks paid leave? Our max is 15 days and we are fighting to stay afloat. The wages are no big deal for this area but 9 weeks? That's ridiculous for sure! | ||
| Court |
>>>The wages are no big deal for this area but 9 weeks? That's ridiculous for sure! It is if it's accurate. I'd have to know the details. It may, as an example, be something similar to the Local #3 furlough program. Or . . . it may be a combination of paid vacation, personal days and so forth. 9 weeks sounds, I'd grant you, high . . . **IF** it's actually 9 weeks of paid vacation. | ||
| Hootowl |
I think it is sweetly ironic that the New York times is having union trouble when its editorial staff is jammed packed with pro-union left leaning people. It is tragic that the bakery is closing after all these years. It is unfortunate that the new owners of the business aren't into baking dough, just making it. | ||
| Court |
>>>It is unfortunate that the new owners of the business aren't into baking dough, just making it. They are as passionate as TMG was when they dropped Ducati and bought Burger King. You play games for fun. You are in business to make money. | ||
| Johnnymceldoo |
If half of Americans think you go into business to provide health care and wages to workers we are doomed as a nation. | ||
| Court |
>>>If half of Americans think you go into business to provide health care and wages to workers we are doomed as a nation. 54% if you want to be picky. They also think that spending $14,000,000,000,000 is a good way to get out of debt. Go figure. | ||
| Xl1200r |
Trying to manufacture in a city where starter homes sell for $500,000+ is tough. I think that's the main point - there's a reason Ford isn't building F-150s in Manhattan or San Jose. $22/hr in New York, depending on where you choose to commute from, ain't a whole hell of a lot. Or . . . it may be a combination of paid vacation, personal days and so forth. I get 19-20 days of paid time off a year - that includes vacation, personal days, sick time, the works. 9 weeks is absurd. However, I'd be pretty reluctant to let that go as well. It is unfortunate that the new owners of the business aren't into baking dough, just making it. Are you serious? You don't go into business solely because you enjoy it - you have to make a living at it. I'd ride my motorcycle everyday for a job and be happy as a clam - but I don't get paid for doing it, so to the office I go. I think Court's response(s) can't be improved any, so I'll just stop here. | ||
| Johnnymceldoo |
If starter homes in that area are 500K than 22/hr is chump change. | ||
| Ferris_von_bueller |
Federal employees , on a sliding scale, receive up to a maximum of one day personal and one day sick leave per two weeks. Round a year down to 50 weeks and do the math. That equals 25 personal days and 25 sick days. A work week equals 5 days, therefore, that's 5 weeks of personal/vacation. Furthermore, those sick days aren't monitored for honesty and can end up being used as personal days which would equate to 10 weeks of vacation. I thought this should be known before this thread turns into union bashing. It is my hope people's anger and frustration can be redirected towards Washington so real CHANGE can be affected. | ||
| Johnnylunchbox |
Starter homes in the commuting area around the factory, if you go out about 40 miles can be had for 250K or less. Stella D'Doro has a long and interesting history. It's a great story about hard work, determination, and the American dream. They used to have 3 plants. Bronx, St.Elmo, IL, and near San Fran, CA. What Stella D'oro is now, is far from what it was. Tuesdays were Anisette Toast days. Man, would the neighborhood smell good. | ||
| Johnnylunchbox |
Ferris, your numbers are a little off. Fed workers have always gotten one full sick day per 4 weeks, not 2. | ||
| Court |
>>>if you go out about 40 miles can be had for 250K or less. And at $22/hour in New York City you'd have to. They do like a lot of folks and live in PA, CT, NJ and Dutchess County . . . get up in the wee hours and take the trains and buses. We have more folks than I would have imagined who live out around Stroudsborg, PA and quite a contingent up in Yorktown Heights, Somers and north. | ||
| 2008xb12scg |
Stela D'oro has been going down hill eversence they got rid of thier route sales reps. Just like Sunshine Biscuits/cookies. They don't want to pay the RSRs so they go direct delivery to the stores, seems good for the company, right? Wrong. Now they have boxes of stuff in the back room of the stores waiting to get put on the shelf buy clerks that are getting paid by the hour. In comes me, competitor paid on commision, in that store delivering, selling, and fighting for space everyday. Making sure I have displays, proper product in the store ect. Eventually Stela will still be sitting in that back room with the competitors, my, stuff all over that store. Sorry to see Stela go, but it's happened before, and will again. Stella, dolly, sunshine, Van D, I'll miss you guys, but you're not paying for my babies milk...So I will help myself to your space and sales... | ||
| Danny_h__jesternut |
So are you saying,there are only two classes of people in NYC?(most cities?) The well off/rich & the very poor/getto? All the working class peps live out in the burbs and commute? Cheep affordable living? Both have different kinds of wild life too? I prefer the wild life out side the city limits, thats jest me though?  | ||
| Court |
>>>All the working class peps live out in the burbs and commute? Negative. With 9,000,000,000 folks . . . well, that just ain't happening. Be mindful that Los Angeles (#2) and Chicago (#3) combined are smaller than the sleepy boro of Brooklyn. (Message edited by court on July 08, 2009) | ||
| Danny_h__jesternut |
Well that would explane the LARGE traffic jams? Thats a lot of commuters cloging up the hwy's & train stations. | ||
| Johnnylunchbox |
Some people in NYC boroughs who rent are better off than the homeowners in the 'burbs. On top of mortgages (which we like to think add equity to our home as they are paid) we 'burbanites have astronomical property taxes. Modest home with a bit of land and I pay near 14k a year. *Poof* 14k gone every year. A rental in one of the outer boroughs for say 1.2 k per month. Same amount *poof* but no mortgage interest that also goes *poof*. So, on $22/hour you may not be living on E 86th and Park, but you can live in other areas. Just an alternate perspective. | ||
| Johnnylunchbox |
2008xb12scg, excellent points. Stella D'Oro went from a family run business to just a small check mark in a mega corporation's ledger. That made all the difference and it has been downhill since. | ||
| Court |
>>>Stella D'Oro went from a family run business to just a small check mark in a mega corporation's ledger. So too . . . by the way . . did Ducati. I saw two of the new Monsters today. Disappointing. | ||
| Xl1200r |
I thought this should be known before this thread turns into union bashing. And federal employees are union members. My girlfriend is a state worker and gets a very similar deal - it's done in hours, not days, but the time works out to be about the same. Too much considering I'M paying for it. | ||
| Bhillberg |
It is a true statement that the company needs to make money. It is also a true statement that workers go to work to make money. Simple as that. I know there are some people that LOVE their job but how many would do it for free? Unions try to get as much as they can for the worker. There needs to be a give and take relationship between the company and the union to make it work. Obviously many companies don't need unions because they treat their employees well. Unions do help in other companies though. Unions also hurt in some by being too greedy. It's a balance. If the Union demands, and gets, too much then you will go out of business. If the company only looks at the cash involved there will be a huge turnover and it won't be able to provide it's best product/service due to constant inexperiance whether there is a union there or not. | ||
| Iamike |
It was kind of funny what our company did for the non-union employees. They changed our vacation policy to so many days per month and 6 days PTO. No more sick leave, family leave, etc. The pending vacation balance was to reset to zero at the beginning of 2010. Well HR forgot to check to see that many of us from an old agreement acrued vacation for the next year so they were basically taking away 4-5 weeks of vacation for a lot of high level people. Luckily many of those involved were upper management and they weren't having any of it so they granted us the vacation for next year plus what we accrue. We can carry over 2 weeks so with that, our 5 weeks and what we get next year we could have 13 weeks next year. Of course I'll just keep carrying over time instead of ever having to use leave at 65% of pay. My biggest problem is that since I'm the only one in my area with my responsibilities if I take a Friday off, quite often I have to work Saturday to make up for it. | ||
| 2008xb12scg |
I work for a major company in the baking industry. We have been bought and sold by these large conglomerates that I've never heard of. It's a scary feeling for the workers. To think that you work for a large company and then realize that "big" company is small peanuts. We also just went through a contract negotiation, we got the shafty...But I still have a job so I won't complain. It's funny all the union bashing as of late. Most companys are out to make money, that's there job. It's mine to. The unions job is to negotiate a contract for me. If I tried to do it myself I just wouldn't be taken seriously. At some point maybe unions had to much power, but I think it's going to be not enough very soon. | ||
| Just_ziptab |
I have a a buddy that works 8,10 hour days in a row and then has 7 days off. Add vacation and personal days off and he doesn't even work half the year.......  | ||
| Dynasport |
I am sorry those people will be losing their jobs. My son graduated from college this past December and there are few jobs to be had. He is still looking. There are very few prospects. I hope the recovers soon. | ||
| Hootowl |
"Are you serious? You don't go into business solely because you enjoy it - you have to make a living at it." I'm not disputing that. I don't think anyone in their right mind would. My point is that an investment group does not have as much interest in making the product as the original owners did. They're ONLY in it for the money. Passion for the business (as I'm sure someone we all know here will tell you) is important for the success of the business. |
