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Current NewsLast Updated: February , 2010
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Union wins first contract with new Hickey-Freeman owner Workers at the Hickey-Freeman Clothing Company in Rochester have ratified their first contract with the company’s new owner — marking the end of a long and arduous process by them and the Joint Board to save their jobs. (See contract details in next article and workers’ reactions in the last story).
“This is a major achievement for our members in the nearly year-long effort to save their jobs and Hickey-Freeman,” noted Joint Board manager Gary Bonadonna and business rep Greg Laskowski. Bonadonna added: “We in the union movement have long used the word ‘solidarity,’ and there is no clearer example of the power of solidarity than in this Hickey-Freeman case. The workers and the union stood together in solidarity — and look at what we were able to achieve through that united strength. We’ll remember and savor this victory for a long time to come.” Laskowski emphasized, “I have represented many great workers over the years at a number of companies, but I’ve never been more proud of any group than these members at Hickey’s. They knew they were engaged in a fight with a huge and powerful banking conglomerate, but they didn’t back off for a single moment. They were unified, they believed in themselves, they believed in the union, and they helped make this victory possible.” When HartMarx filed early last year for bankruptcy, the fate of its Hickey-Freeman Company was in jeopardy because Wells Fargo Bank wanted to liquidate HartMarx assets, including those of Hickey-Freeman. That’s when the Joint Board and the Hickey workers began efforts on two fronts. The Board enlisted intense support from its political allies, including U.S. Senator Charles Schumer and U.S. Representative Louise Slaughter and key figures in the Obama administration. Simultaneously, workers signed petitions and voted to stage a plant sit-in if Wells Fargo moved ahead with plans to liquidate HartMarx. That intense pressure worked — Wells Fargo dropped its liquidation plans and accepted Emerisque Brands’ offer to buy the company. Bonadonna stressed at the time that successfully forcing Wells Fargo to abandon its liquidation plans “made it abundantly clear all over again why political allies are so key to getting — and keeping — things so important to us and to all our members.”
New Hickey-Freeman contract Workers at Hickey-Freeman Clothing in Rochester have ratified a new three-year pact that provides a first in tailored apparel — a form of job security, business rep Greg Laskowski announced. (See article above for background about how the workers and the union saved the company and the last article for workers’ reactions.) “That provision is very important,” Laskowski emphasized, “because it prevents the company from outsourcing work unless the factory is already operating at an agreed upon full employment rate. That is very significant for our members because it is a form of job security,” the business rep noted. He also strongly underscored that this first contract with the company’s new owners “does not in any way represent starting totally from scratch. The union was able to save years of important agreements and understandings from past contracts with the old HartMarx organization, and incorporate them into this new contract with Emerisque’s HMX LLC company. Under the new pact, employees will get a $250 bonus this October, followed by a 20¢-an-hour increase in February, 2011, and a 25¢-an-hour increase in March, 2012. In addition, Laskowski said, the so-called “tariff bonus” payments will resume again in both December, 2011 and 2012. The bonus comes from a contractual agreement between the union and tailored apparel manufacturers using imported wool. The manufacturers initially pay tariffs on the imported wool, but receive rebates as part of a government trade agreement the union helped achieve. The tariff rebates are designed to help tailored apparel manufacturers compete on a more level playing filed against gobal competitors. While the contract does not contain a defined benefit retirement plan, the union succeeded in winning company contributions to the employees 401(k) plan — 25¢-an-hour for the period from March 1, 2011, through February 29, 2012; and 30¢-an-hour during the same period from 2012 through 2013. The contribution is based on an employee’s compensated hours during those periods. In addition, all of the company’s plants will soon switch to Amalgamated Life Insurance, which currently has a weekly employee contribution of just $6 a week for the “single” plan. The vacation plan is unchanged. |
Workers proud of their efforts and the union’s to save company Workers at the Hickey-Freeman Clothing Company in Rochester fought hard to save the company and their jobs, signing petitions, attending rallies and even voting to stage a plant sit-in if necessary. (See the first article above for details about the steps they and the Joint Board took.) Here are comments from some of the workers about those actions: Maria Delgado
Maria Delgado, a 30 year employee: ”I’m so happy we saved Hickey’s. I feel happy that things have come back, and that I’m working. I could not imagine there not being a Hickey’s. I’m proud that I helped save the company, and that the Union helped so much. The Union is the best!” Halil Ekiz
Hailil Ekiz, a 13 year employee: “I’m proud that I and the other workers signed the petitions and that we voted to do a sit-in if necessary. And, what the Union did also made a big difference.” Serap Bektas
Serap Bektas, 9 years: “I feel good. I hope that what we did will keep the jobs in Rochester. What the Union did was perfect — it did everything to keep the company open and save jobs. I definitely appreciate all that was done.” Ahmed Ghassat
Ahmed Ghassat, 14 years: “I feel good about what was accomplished by the workers, the city, the state and the Union working together to keep jobs in Rochester. The Union did a great job getting the politicians here to help. I thank the Union for what it did to help keep the company open.” Thomas Joseph
Thomas Joseph, 16 years: “I’m happy because the power of the Union works. The politicians helped us because we have the power.” Raju Karki
Raju Karki, 15 years: “I did not know for a while what was going to happen, but I’m glad that everybody supported our efforts to save our jobs. The Union did a great job — they brought in a lot of support for us.” Diana Rivera
“I think the workers and the Union accomplished a lot and saved a lot of jobs. It was great that we all came together to fight the cause.”
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