A group called “Warehouse Workers Uniting” walked through the streets of SoHo Saturday afternoon to draw attention to designers and brands that they claim are using a union-busting facility in New Jersey.
About 30 people, wearing pale blue hooded rain ponchos, took part in the event, which started at Tribeca Park with a brass band performance and a few speeches, according to an organizer. The event was designed to draw attention to a labor dispute with Elanders/Bergen Logistics, a North Bergen, N.J., operation that works with numerous designer brands and is said to be “a union buster.” Supporters included a few factory workers from the facility, as well as ones from Starbucks Workers United, a worker-led unionizing effort.
Charles Ickes, chief executive officer of Bergen Logistics, did not respond immediately to a request for comment Tuesday.
Workers at the company’s warehouse claim to be underpaid and overworked, and they are looking to unionize. The Warehouse Workers Uniting supporters “paraded” through SoHo, past the storefronts of some of the fashion companies that are said to utilize the Elanders/Bergen Logistics warehouse for storage, packing, distribution and e-commerce services. “Those brands included notable vocal supporters of ‘ethical’ and ‘sustainable’ fashion industry trends like Ganni, Acne Studios and Kenzo,” the group’s spokesperson said. Cynthia Rowley and Apiece Apart were also along the route.
Although the 90-minute procession kept going, two members of the Workers United Laundry, Distribution and Food Service Joint Board entered those five stores to deliver a hard copy of a letter, which had also been emailed and sent by the U.S. Postal Service to the companies last week. Making an appeal for a petition in support of Warehouse Workers Uniting, organizers suggested that if the brands “don’t speak up, they are selling their products on the backs of exploited workers.”
In addition to Cynthia Rowley, Acne Studios, Ganni, Kenzo and Apiece Apart, the fliers also flag Lela Rose, Phillip Lim, Ulla Johnson and Marimekko for using the facility. The fliers note that Warehouse Workers Uniting does not intend to and will not ask anyone to stop working or marking pick-ups and deliveries. Workers at the North Bergen facility store, sort, package and ship garments, shoes, bags and accessories for fashion brands.
A Lela Rose spokesperson said Tuesday, “We uphold the belief that workers should be appropriately compensated and, upon being made aware of the issue, have been pursuing further knowledge surrounding the circumstances that led to this petition.”
Warehouse Workers Uniting alleges that Elanders/Bergen Logistics has engaged in delay tactics, to resist recognizing the union and bargaining in good faith. Representatives at Ganni, Acne Studios and Marimekko declined to comment Tuesday. Media requests to Cynthia Rowley, Kenzo, Apiece Apart and Ulla Johnson were unreturned. Wen Zhou, president and chief executive officer of 3.1 Phillip Lim, was unavailable to comment.
“Warehouse Workers Uniting” activists walked by several fashion stores that are said to use a distribution center that is involved in a labor dispute.
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Megan Chambers, co-manager of the LDFS Joint Board, Workers United, SEIU, said Tuesday that workers at the Elanders/Bergen Logistics distribution center in North Berge reached out to the union last year and “they urgently wanted to organize.” In addition, they are seeking more paid time off, better pay, better and more affordable health insurance, and the right to be represented and to negotiate over working conditions. Chambers said, “They want to be able to have a binding say when it comes to their workplace health and safety conditions, pay and benefits, schedule changes and other working conditions.”
In November, the majority of the distribution center’s 185 workers signed union cards, stating they wanted to be represented by the Workers United, SEIU, Chambers said. Elanders/Bergen Logistics was said to have been notified and was asked to live up to their signed agreement with UNI Global Union regarding organizing drives, but that has not happened, Chambers said.
The group’s spokesperson said, “The parade served to reinforce the importance of these logistics workers to the success of the fashion industry, despite the fact that their essential labor is less visible than the products they handle and deliver.“
Worker-led activism has gained some momentum in recent years with some people forming unions, speaking out for reforms and creating coalitions. Some have been motivated by underpayment, poor treatment or job insecurity. One New York nonprofit, For the Many, organizes workers and advocates for pro-labor legislation, and another The Model Alliance supports workers in the fashion industry.
