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Williamsburgh, NY - Flaum Appetizing Under Scrutiny For Its Labor Practices |
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Flaum Appetizing fired nearly half its 45 employees May 28. According to Alvin Blyer, the Brooklyn regional director of the National Labor Relations Board, the employees had gone on strike in support of a co-worker who had been fired two days earlier for alleged involvement in a protest against the company’s labor policies. When they tried to return to work, they were told their jobs had been terminated.
“For now, I am not working, nor are any of my comrades,” said Irma Juarez, a Flaum employee who was among those fired. “The majority doesn’t want to go back, because we feel there was a lot of injustice done. Some feel that we could go back. But this can only happen if we all go back.”
Aviram Chen, a manager of the company, declined to comment on the situation.
A union that is affiliated with the workers at Flaum has made similar arguments in its protests of the company. In a pamphlet handed out to shoppers outside Zabar’s, a gourmet supermarket on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, the union said, “Flaum Appetizing Corp. strictly observes Halakha (Jewish Law) with regard to food, but arrogantly defies its teachings (and State and federal laws) concerning treatment of workers.”
Flaum has done business in Brooklyn for 90 years and specializes in smoked fish products and an array of side dishes. It has a storefront in a heavily Hasidic part of Williamsburg and distributes its products under its own brand name and other labels.
The NLRB, a government organization that investigates labor disputes, has been investigating Flaum for several months. The organization late last year issued a complaint against the company for its response to unionization efforts, and is now considering whether to file an additional complaint over the recent dismissals.
“Employers cannot lawfully fire employees for protesting,” Blyer said. He added that this was the case regardless of whether the employees were protesting a lawful or unlawful dismissal of a co-worker.
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Read Comments (34) — Post Yours »
1
Jun 12, 2008 at 08:14 PM Oy Gevald Says:
Sounds likea lot of sour pickles!!!
2
Jun 12, 2008 at 08:27 PM shor habor Says:
i hope we get rid of all these ROTTEN TO THE CORE BUISINESSES , jewish as well as non jewish . Its a total disgrace what has been going on here. It looks like Rubashkin started the ball rolling in this case.
3
Jun 12, 2008 at 08:52 PM Anonymous Says:
Do not care about Rubbish-can, but I must have my pickled herring at a low price
4
Jun 12, 2008 at 09:30 PM Anonymous Says:
i know the owners of flaums - the lovliest people you can ever hope to meet. i know how these unions operate, and when yiden are involved in particular. all it takes is one good for nothing worker who gets kicked out for not doing his job, if not worse, and then his buddies in the jew-loving unions are all too happy to pounce on the owners. dear shor-habor dont be part of them, because you never when it will hit the fan and splatter all over your wonderful face
5
Jun 12, 2008 at 09:37 PM lavdafka Says:
uh-oh.... dont tell me.....
6
Jun 12, 2008 at 10:04 PM Anonymous Says:
GOOD FOR THEM
FIGHT THE UNION'S TILL THE END
THEY ARE ALL CORRUPT ANYWAYS
7
Jun 12, 2008 at 10:09 PM Pinky's wife Says:
Living out of town now, I miss Flaum's. I used to buy their Matjes herring for Shabbos and eat it on the way home.
8
Jun 12, 2008 at 10:38 PM lover of all jews Says:
what's going on, first rubashkin now Flaum's. Looks like the orthodox are getting targeted...but why???
9
Jun 12, 2008 at 10:41 PM Anonymous Says:
shor habor: You are a real Shor Habor. Shame on you and all of you self hating Jews.
We needed Unions to protect American workers 150 years ago. Right now, all they do is deduct money from hard working workers. They are completly wrong! Flaums fired a worker and then they all went to strike. You have a right to strike. But guess what? You don't show up for work the employer has a right to. And that is to fire you!
10
Jun 12, 2008 at 10:46 PM Anonymous Says:
The Flaums are in a real pickle now.
11
Jun 12, 2008 at 10:51 PM Anonymous Says:
Which union was involved???
12
Jun 12, 2008 at 11:01 PM Chaim Yankel Says:
10:51 - UAW...They use the same fluid for the herring as they do for transmissions.
13
Jun 12, 2008 at 11:03 PM Beef Lovers Unite! Says:
Pretty interesting that nobody commenting here is making a big stink like they made about Agriprocessors. Where is all the bashing, false rumors, speculation and threatened boycotts that were suggested by all you holier-than-thou commenters? Funny how you pick and choose. Kinda shows that you have an axe to grind...
14
Jun 12, 2008 at 11:24 PM cc Says:
Flaums is packing lots of RED HERRING.
I never loved thier foods anyway so it really wont affect me. Personally I prefer Shwartzes.
Hey Mr. Shwarts . Dont end up in this like everyone else . Make sure you have Kosher practices at work, not just kosher food.
15
Jun 13, 2008 at 12:00 AM Anonymous Says:
Hey,
Where all the Rubashkin Haters now?
Or people just hypocritical??
16
Jun 13, 2008 at 12:09 AM Unions are evil! Says:
If I dont want a union to start, I have the right not to have one. Why should everyone get paid the same thing here? Some are better than others. A good worker should get more $ and vice versa.
17
Jun 13, 2008 at 12:22 AM Anonymous Says:
It is sickening how everyone is only interested
in themselves....only concerned about what kind of herring and pickles they like. what about the fact that a jewish company is being hurt. How selfish can one be!
18
Jun 13, 2008 at 12:22 AM devorah Says:
The unions killed America, can a company not fire a worker .... If America continues this country will go the way the auto, steel and many other industries went, unions kill the industry and make prices go up and then people dont buy OR they just go elsewhere (like Japan and China - which is all we are consuming), one thing is sure you cant unionize in Mexico or China or Vietnam but we ALL consume there goods!!
For those boycotting Rubashkin, first boycott China or Mexico etc!!
19
Jun 13, 2008 at 02:50 AM curious Says:
which flaum are we talking about Moshe grungut or Mendel Kohn
20
Jun 13, 2008 at 03:50 AM Anonymous Says:
im loving this...all those poeple that said chabad luvs rubashkins and will stick up for them no matter what, wheres all the non lubavitchers now sticking up for flaum...the 'innocent' company. ive always said it, what goes around comes around.
21
Jun 13, 2008 at 05:33 AM anonymous Says:
There is a difference between Rubashkin and Flaum's. Flaum always had a good reputation in business.
22
Jun 13, 2008 at 06:40 AM Anonymous Says:
this is good addvertising for Flaums and Rubbashkin
23
Jun 13, 2008 at 07:30 AM yochy Says:
Good job firing all those union people. Flaum has the right to fire anyone they want and if they all want to strike-do you recall what our great president Ronald Reagen did with the air traffic controllers?
24
Jun 13, 2008 at 08:37 AM Matzahlocal101 Says:
There used to be a company called eastern airlines. They wanted to teach CEO Frank Lorenzo a lesson, so they struck until the closed the company putting 40,000 people out of work, 22,000 in Miami alone. BTW Frank Lorenzo still has a job. Their used to be a company called Pan Am, the oldest operating airline in the US, (they started with flying boats,) The union struck in solidarity with Eastern, Pan Am is no more. Prior to the creation of OSHA, and the Dept of Labor unions may have served a purpose. Today they are there only to foment discontent between labor and management in the classic "class" struggle, and to perpetuate them selves. The unions supported Bill Clinton 1992 because he campaigned against NAFTA. First thing he did in office was to sign Nafta Into law and the unions supported him again in 1996 after he stabbed them in back. The unionized Chazirs in Baseball with a starting salary of half a mil for an average player are no better. Americans should have boycotted baseball for three years after the last baseball strike. The radio reported one player made $33,000 (barry bonds, I think) a minute for the time he spent on the field and he was striking for more. Unions discourage individual achievment. Individual achievment built America.
25
Jun 13, 2008 at 08:51 AM $upreme Ko$her Says:
I don't like unions, and I like the Rubbishcan even less but these 'workers' at Flaum are just using the scandals at Agri to their own advantage and jumping on the bandwagon.
26
Jun 13, 2008 at 10:14 AM gelitzyaner Says:
Its the same union again,when they have problems with a company they try to bash it as far as it could go. Just like the mad cow story they made up to mock the Rubashkin's. We the people have to stand up against these union's before its to late,they will get down each and every business one on a time.Lets all help these company that are affected by these union's,Flaum's,Rubashkin's we could help by buying there stuff,and asking our grocer to keep there produce.
27
Jun 13, 2008 at 10:16 AM Anonymous Says:
The fact that they were being investigated means no more than someone call 311 and telling an operator anything they want. The fact is that they are fighting the union, the same way Tuv Taam did. Unfortunately in the end Tuv Taam caved to the unions.
The unions are legalized mafia, and unfortunately have hurt us all, and do little to protect the employees they are supposed to. They do nothing more than give people excuses for bad labor.
Let's all support Flamms in their time of need!! Let's show the unions that they can't win in this community. Let's all stand united against the unions.
28
Jun 13, 2008 at 10:22 AM Anonymous Says:
Let's all stand united against the unions.
They are BAD for business
29
Jun 13, 2008 at 12:38 PM williasburg Says:
the article is misquoted yes the business name has been a round for 90 years but the flaums solded out to Hasidim over 20 years, the family only had the highest respect for its employees, they were treated as family. the hasidiam only care for the bottom line not for the human factor
30
Jun 13, 2008 at 12:49 PM Yankl Says:
If the company canhold out for a long time without the workers and resist, they can beat the union. If the Labor Relation Board gets involved they are in trouble. Flaum is now making the sonny & Joew brand of salads.
31
Jun 13, 2008 at 01:42 PM domingo Says:
i work at flaums for over ten years.only 15 out of 50 workers walkd out after our manager told them to return to work and they refused,they have been replaced with wonderfull people, we at flaums are treated with most respect ,we love the people we work for, its only a few rotton apples including the six brothes that are putting up this fight with a bogus union .We stand strong united satisfied workers like family we will fight the union to the end .
32
Jun 13, 2008 at 04:29 PM Anonymous Says:
how did domingo find this web page
33
Jun 13, 2008 at 04:57 PM Peacelover Says:
I think the rubashkin thing is contagious, these illegals or anyone that isnt satisfied with their lot in life has an opening for their grievances, and unlimited publicity...with frum Jews as their scapegoat. Now all frum businesses had better beware...and the world will enjoy our misery..
34
Jun 15, 2008 at 10:13 AM Anonymous Says:
I work for tuv Taam we did not cave to the unions an we have no unions it took them almost four years to fight us at the end they gave up..all you need is a good union lawyer which we have and he knows how to twist arms trust me.