"They Came Away with Their Dignity": Striking NYC Workers Win Wage Hike After Surge of Solidarity

Workers at the Hunts Point Produce Market in New York City have overwhelmingly approved a new three-year contract, ending a week-long strike that captured national attention and galvanized the community behind the essential workers at the Bronx-based business. Some 1,400 members of the Teamsters Local 202 union walked off the job on January 17, demanding a $1 raise and recognition for their work to keep New Yorkers fed during the pandemic, with the Hunts Point Market supplying about 60% of the city's produce. Management had offered a 32-cent raise instead. But after a week on the picket line and widespread support from the community, workers won raises of $1.85 per hour over three years, as well as improved terms for family health benefits. They were resolved with each other, and they were standing shoulder to shoulder with each other on the basic premise of being treated decently," Daniel Kane, president of Teamsters Local 202, says of the workers' job action. They fought, and they came away with their dignity."