Congratulations are due our friend and fellow Stella supporter Prof. Peter Ranis. As John T., from The Indypendent and The Clarion, explains below, Prof. Ranis' recent op-ed on the potential use of eminent domain at Stella D'oro has begun to attract some important attention.
A steady presence at all of the big rallies at Stella D'oro, our friends at District Council 37 are at it again! This time they have invited workers from Stella D'oro to join them for a public meeting at their union hall. Here is their announcement of the event:
KEEP STELLA D'ORO IN THE BRONX! A JOB IS A RIGHT!On Monday, August 31st at 6PM in Room 4 at District Council 37, AFSCME, located at 125 Barclay Street (one block north of the World Trade Center, near the West Side Hwy). The Local 375 "Labor/Community Unity Committee" will be hosting a forum in support of the heroic 11-month struggle of the workers at Stella D'oro to save their jobs and defend their union contract. The Stella D'oro workers are now in a life-and-death struggle to keep their plant open against a private equity vulture capitalist (Brynwood Partners) that, in revenge, plans to illegally shut down Stella D'oro in October, in violation of an NLRB order to negotiate with Local 50 of the Bakery, Confectionary, Tobaccio & Grain Millers International Union, AFL-CIO.
COME AND HEAR STELLA D'ORO STRIKE LEADERS AND LABOR AND COMMUNITY ORGANIZERS AND ACTIVISTS! LET'S STRATEGIZE WITH THEM SO AS TO PLAN A FIGHTBACK! LET'S BUILD A POWERFUL PRESENCE AT THE LABOR DAY MARCH IN SUPPORT OF THESE HEROIC WORKERS AND THEIR CRITICAL STRUGGLE TO SAVE THEIR JOBS!
We here at the Stella D'oro Solidarity Committee hope you'll join us and our very hospitable friends from DC 37 for this excellent forum!
Following on the heels of our participation on a panel on food workers at the Brooklyn Food Conference in May, the Brooklyn Food Coalition (BFC), which grew out of the Conference, quickly announced its support for our strike and struggle to keep Stella D'oro in the Bronx.
Now they have gone one step further, publicizing our participation in the Labor Day March in their e-newsletter. Here is what they wrote:
SUPPORT JUSTICE FOR FOOD WORKERS AT LABOR DAY MARCH
(Sponsored by the Stella Workers Solidarity Committee)
Come out and march alongside Stella D'Oro workers, who make biscuits and cookies that many of us eat, but who are fighting to keep their Bronx plant open and to make sure their jobs stay safe and just. Saturday, September 12, 10:00 AM, 45th Street and Madison in Manhattan. For more information about the workers, the strike, and the Labor Day March go to www.stelladorostrike.com.
You can check out the complete e-newsletter here. Thanks, BFC, for the support!
"Leading the Way," Crain's New York, 8/25/09
LEADING THE WAY: DC 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts will be the grand marshal of the Sept. 12 Labor Day Parade. Workers from the Stella D’oro factory in the Bronx, who could lose their jobs in October if a planned shutdown of their factory goes through, will also participate. Read more.
Stella D'oro workers and supporters will be marching in one of the first contingents at this year's Labor Day March on September 12th. In order to have an impact, however, we need all of our friends and allies to march with us. You can see our leaflet publicizing our participation in the march here. Please download and distribute it!
"Nonni's may buy Stella plant," The Real Deal, 8/21/09
Nonni's Food Corporation, best known for its biscotti, is reportedly in talks to buy the Stella D'Oro plant on West 237th Street in the Bronx, which is slated to close in October. Nonni's Old London Foods already has a factory in the Bronx. The Stella employees' union ended a deal for company owner Brynwood to sell the operation to Lance Foods, but sources told the New York Post the union may be more amenable to a deal with Nonni. Read more.
Here is a little bit of background from The Daily News on Chicago-based Nonni's Food Co., a potential buyer for Stella D'oro. According to the article, they are not half-bad: they bought Old London Foods in 2005 and kept its Bronx melba toast factory in production, adding rather than cutting jobs.
But that was 2005. We hope to post soon about how the plant (and union) has fared since then -- and what terms Nonni's is putting forward as part of a potential Stella D'oro purchase today. For now, the struggle continues! See you at the Labor Day March!
Update: Check out Vivartia, Nonni's Greek parent company, here.
"The Morning Leverage," The Wall Street Journal, 8/21/09
Stella! The New York Post reports that Brynwood Partners may have found a local buyer, Nonni’s Food Co., for its Stella D’Oro portfolo company. As previously reported, the firm has been stymied in its attempts to resolve labor issues at the company. A buyer with a plant already in the area could go over better with the union. Read more.
"Greek White Knight: New Hope for Stella," The New York Post, 8/21/09
The private-equity firm that has threatened to shut down Stella D'Oro Biscuit's Bronx plant after losing a labor dispute earlier this year may have found a local buyer.
A person familiar with the matter said Nonni's Food Co. is in talks to buy the operation, which is owned by Greenwich, Conn.-based Brynwood Partners, with the hopes the cookie company would complement Nonni's Old London Foods, which has a factory in the Bronx as well. Read more.
"Deals of the Day," The Wall Street Journal, 8/21/09
Stella D’Oro Biscuit: Nonni’s Food Co. is in talks to buy the operation, which is owned by Greenwich, Conn.-based Brynwood Partners, with the hopes the cookie company would complement Nonni’s Old London Foods. Read more.
