Several months after 200 B&H warehouse workers in Brooklyn voted to join the United Steelworkers, workers in the basement warehouse below B&H Photo Video’s retail store in Midtown Manhattan have done the same.
In an election conducted by the National Labor Relations Board Tuesday, workers voted to join the union after training with the Laundry Workers Center, a grassroots labor group. B&H workers in Midtown went public in late January with their goal to end abusive and dangerous workplace conditions along with discriminatory practices.
“Today, I am free. Not just me, but all my companeros,” said B&H Photo worker Zenaido Rosendo in a statement. “We never thought we could realize our dreams, but now with the union, it’s possible.
“We want to be an example for all the workers here in New York City. We want to encourage workers to look for support in the community. They can come out from the shadows because they are not alone.”
“The B&H workers represent the mission of Laundry Workers Center in that they have to lead their own struggle,” added Laundry Workers Center co-director Rosanna Rodriguez in a statement. “And when we organize, we win.”
Back in November, workers at two B&H warehouses in Brooklyn voted to join United Steelworkers after vowing to fight against what they felt were unsafe working conditions, wage theft and discrimination against Latino employees.
As the AmNews previously reported, workers said they were pulled from their work stations and forced to meet with consultants who demanded information regarding union campaign leaders. Workers said consultants threatened workers who didn’t speak up and claimed to have recordings of B&H managers screaming at workers who didn’t comply with orders.
Workers in Brooklyn found an ally in Photo/Video Alliance for Fair Labor. An open letter from the organization called for an end to the working conditions and discrimination that B&H warehouse workers allegedly faced. The open letter had 1,000 signatures from people in the world of film, television, academia, journalism and commercial photography.
B&H Photo warehouse workers in Manhattan said they used the Brooklyn warehouse workers situation as inspiration.
“After this victory, what is coming is respect, fair treatment for all workers and a decent salary.” said B&H Photo worker Benicio Najera in a statement.