FreshDirect Be Damned!

I'll do a Smartmom here.

From the New York Times:

"Fresh Direct’s great successes — Internet efficiency, competitive prices, an array of locally grown produce and a loyal, well-heeled customer base — were built on a low-wage, transient work force that was anchored by illegal immigrants."

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/22/nyregion/22fresh.html?pagewanted=1&ref=nyregion

Apart from the issue of illegal immigrants - which is certainly not unique to Fresh Direct or the food industry - the NY Times article revealed the terrible working conditions and pay that Fresh Direct employees receive. If Fresh Direct were to pay its lower-level workers a living wage, it would probably have to increase prices to such a point that that much of their core customer based (affluent, educated, younger) would seek their whole-grain, wasabi crusted. free-range soy-based whatever elsewhere. Fresh Direct markets itself as being an enlightened purveyor of foods, but they sure don't seem like an enlightened employer.

bookistan wrote: Apart from the issue of illegal immigrants - which is certainly not unique to Fresh Direct or the food industry - the NY Times article revealed the terrible working conditions and pay that Fresh Direct employees receive. If Fresh Direct were to pay its lower-level workers a living wage, it would probably have to increase prices to such a point that that much of their core customer based (affluent, educated, younger) would seek their whole-grain, wasabi crusted. free-range soy-based whatever elsewhere. Fresh Direct markets itself as being an enlightened purveyor of foods, but they sure don't seem like an enlightened employer.

Would you care to enlighten me and quote the reference to "terrible working conditions" that Fresh Direct subjects its workers to. I couldn't find it in either linked article.

I still don't understand why Fresh Direct is getting singled out by both this thread and the NYT, when even the linked article states:

Also today, a representative of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York weighed in on the dispute. “The recent turmoil with FreshDirect and its workers is an obvious illustration of the need for comprehensive immigration reform that is just and humane,”

This isn't unique to Fresh Direct. This is a NATIONAL ISSUE, folks. You would be hard pressed to find a bar, restaurant or grocery store in this very neighborhood that isn't in the same boat. Why all the hate towards FD? It wouldn't have anything to do with their "affluent, educated, younger" clientele would it?

FD caved in to Fed pressure and FORCED OUT 100 employees.

So you think FD should ignore Federal laws to people who have already broken the law employed?

LydiaBrunch wrote: Full disclosure: I work at FreshDirect (though not in the plant... and not in PR either, before someone suggests it. Nor management.) We'd been asked not to comment publicly on this stuff, at least while it was still being decided, so I stayed out of here (and will probably continue to do so.) However, I'm surprised no one posted this yet:

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/12/21/pressure-mounts-as-freshdirect-turmoil-rises/index.html

80% of plant workers voted for no union.

Thanks. People want to ignore the obvious - it was an EMPLOYEE VOTE. If you are not sure how it works, go to the National Labor Relations Board website (NLRB.gov, I think). They explain it all there.

How come people don't wonder why these "benevolent" unions couldnt unite and increase their chances? Teamsters versus UFCW, both lining up at the trough hoping to grab up a ton of new dues paying members, regardless of their legal status. Hhm. There's enough there for people to begin to see beyond the shoddy journalism and find the true story hidden just below the surface.

Guvna wrote: [quote=Livetotravel]I guess I must be a cynic - I guess it's just coincidence that the undocumented workers were generously informed of an imminent inspection by la Migra before the union vote :roll:

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2007/12/12/2007-12-12_freshdirect_axes_immigrant_workers.html

http://gothamist.com/2007/12/24/fresh_direct_wo.php

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/24/nyregion/24fresh.html?ref=nyregion

Thats not illegal. They relayed the facts as they came in. I wouldve probably done the same. If the people who want the union wont be there once the feds show up, why let them influence the vote? In addition, if you really care about these people, giving them early notice so that they can find alternative employment and avoid deportation would be a nice thing to do.

It's messy all around, isn't it? One could cynically figure FD will let the undocumented people back on the payroll once the Feds are gone. Perhaps they (like many businesses) depend on the cheap silent labor our crappy shameful immigration policies promote by default. I'd rather people be allowed work visas, and not have to work illegally.

Yeah boy, merry xmas.

pitu wrote: [quote=Guvna][quote=Livetotravel]I guess I must be a cynic - I guess it's just coincidence that the undocumented workers were generously informed of an imminent inspection by la Migra before the union vote :roll:

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2007/12/12/2007-12-12_freshdirect_axes_immigrant_workers.html

http://gothamist.com/2007/12/24/fresh_direct_wo.php

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/24/nyregion/24fresh.html?ref=nyregion

Thats not illegal. They relayed the facts as they came in. I wouldve probably done the same. If the people who want the union wont be there once the feds show up, why let them influence the vote? In addition, if you really care about these people, giving them early notice so that they can find alternative employment and avoid deportation would be a nice thing to do.

It's messy all around, isn't it? One could cynically figure FD will let the undocumented people back on the payroll once the Feds are gone. Perhaps they (like many businesses) depend on the cheap silent labor our crappy shameful immigration policies promote by default. I'd rather people be allowed work visas, and not have to work illegally.

Yeah boy, merry xmas.
Completely messy all around. For instance, I read somewhere that FD has been using the SS verification program for years. So, technically, they have been doing much more than most employers. However, that program will only catch counterfeit numbers. It does little to stop usage of misappropriated valid numbers, except identify double usage where it occurs. If, however, the true owner of the ss is not working, the number may not show up as already in use. So, nothing will tell FD that the person is illegal or undocumented.

In reality, employers usually hear from the workers themselves that "so-and-so" is undocumented. However, that's just hearsay, and as long as the documentation appears to be legitimate (and the worker is a good worker!), the employer is unlikely to interrogate the suspected employee (indeed they may be legally precluded from doing so).

Minimum wage is 7.15 an hour and I'd guess the temps were due to food storage.

"bookistan" wrote: Regarding below: I was specifically referring to the statement in the NY Times that Fresh Direct employees receive starting wages of $7.85/hr and work in a factory with a temperature of 38 degrees "often for more than 8 hours at a stretch." That sounds like terrible working conditions to me.

[quote=PeelTrident][quote=bookistan]Apart from the issue of illegal immigrants - which is certainly not unique to Fresh Direct or the food industry - the NY Times article revealed the terrible working conditions and pay that Fresh Direct employees receive. If Fresh Direct were to pay its lower-level workers a living wage, it would probably have to increase prices to such a point that that much of their core customer based (affluent, educated, younger) would seek their whole-grain, wasabi crusted. free-range soy-based whatever elsewhere. Fresh Direct markets itself as being an enlightened purveyor of foods, but they sure don't seem like an enlightened employer.

Would you care to enlighten me and quote the reference to "terrible working conditions" that Fresh Direct subjects its workers to. I couldn't find it in either linked article.

eggcream wrote: You could always ask them to charge your card 30.00 extra bucks or however more you want to go towards the ILLEGAL ALIENS paycheck.

Corporations wouldn't loose any money. They would just pass the cost on to the consumer.

There's so many ways that argument goes wrong, but here's one.
Large companies with healthy profits returned to their stockholders, and enormous compensation paid to their management, use illegal workers. Not because they can't survive without them, but because they want more money to keep for themselves. They sometimes mask this by contracting out those low paid jobs to a subcontractor, who hires the UNDOCUMENTED WORKERS ( :roll: ) say for cleanup. Cleaning crews all over America, for instance.

Corporations decide where to spend their money. They can decide to put it all in packaging, advertising, and the compensation package of the CEO, and none in the pocket of the fruit picker.

eatshoplocal wrote: Value system?

Fresh Direct definition: loud gas spewing vehicles that idle noisily, drive recklessly and annoy your neighbors so you dont have to leave your apartment and walk down the block to shop and support your local businesses.

duh.

my local business sucks. So, my hundreds of neighbors and I would all be driving to Fairway or pathmark, causing much more pollution than Fresh Direct. I havent witnessed any reckless driving by them either. If I did, I would report the vehicle number to the main office and have them take care of it.

I wonder how long before Amazon's food delivery business makes it here. Will be interesting to see of they can better FD in their own backyard.

great article! fresh direct is so wrong in so many ways - besides who takes their car to go grocery shopping - is brooklyn considered a suburb now?

If you don't like the way FD does business, fine and don't order from them.

And by the way - don't be a hypocrite and make sure EVERY store or service you patronize pays its employees a living wage with benefits. Me thinks you will stop going to restaurants, shop at most grocery stores, and use just about any kind of service that uses low skill workers.