Sept. 12, 2010: Former workers of Flaum Appetizing lead a protest outside the house of Flaum owner, Moshe Grudhut. Flaum Appetizing is a Brooklyn based kosher food processor that illegally fired 17 hard-working and dedicated employees. These workers were fired after organizing to oppose 60-80 hour work weeks with no overtime pay. A National Labor Relations Board hearing in the fall of 2008 found that Flaum had violated the workers' rights under the National Labor Relations Act, and the ruling ordered the workers to be reinstated and receive back pay. Flaum lost on appeal and has refused to comply with the orders. A new NLRB hearing is set for November 9th.
Workers at Flaum prepare, process, pack, and deliver large orders of kosher foodstuffs to supermarkets around New York. The campaign for justice at Flaum is being carried out by the Focus on the Food Chain initiative, a joint effort of non-profit organization Brandworkers and the Industrial Workers of the World labor union (NYC Branch). The Focus on the Food Chain campaign promotes a sustainable food system which incorporates respect for workers' rights. By empowering employees with social change tools, Brandworkers wins respect for labor rights and challenges corporate misconduct. The Industrial Workers of the World is a grassroots labor union dedicated to democracy at work.
