Hunts Point

New York City - Drivers and warehouse workers who feed New York City have won their strike. After six days off the job, the strikers at Hunts Point Produce Market in the Bronx ratified a contract that doubled management’s wage offer and defeated a health care cost increase. The 1,400 workers at the world’s largest wholesale produce market, members of Teamsters Local 202, are responsible for packing and delivering 60 percent of the fruits and vegetables that go to restaurants and grocery stores in New York City. The unit is comprised of 14 different companies that bargain a contract together. Before the strike, the employers were offering a raise of just 32 cents an hour, and wanted to pass on to workers an increase in health care costs.

The 1,400 workers at Hunts Point Market, the largest produce distribution market in the country, went on strike the night of Sunday, January 17. They walked out of the warehouse to win a better contract after risking their lives as essential workers since the beginning of the pandemic.  Management offered them a minimal $0.32 per hour raise. Their demands? Bring members who are making $18.75 an hour up to $20 an hour, give everyone else a $1 an hour raise, and maintain their healthcare coverage at no additional costs to the workers. This was the first time the union, Teamsters Local 202, went on strike since at Hunts Point 1986.