Fascinating tale here in New York City....greed, corruption, fraud, jobs, unions, government officials (Oops...already said corruption), green industry....the rich against the poor...minimum wages, damage to the environment.....[pant...pant...gasp!.....
1. The Governor, the Mayor, and the Borough President are about to hand over $129 million in public money, through tax exemptions and direct subsidies, to FreshDirect, a grocery delivery service that is notorious for underpaying its workers, has faced multiple accusations of discrimination and has been accused of using all sorts of shady tactics to block its workers from joining a union.
2. Mayor Bloomberg and borough president Diaz claimed in an op-ed that FreshDirect is a true New York success story, growing blah blah blah...company has only promised to create 1,000 jobs over 10 years,.... 300 new jobs to the South Bronx, .....potential of 3,000 jobs
3. But its delivery drivers and warehouse workers make less than $9 an hour...discrimination complaints, and is a union-buster-...40 percent of the company's employees make less than $25,000 a year. For hauling boxes in the refrigerated warehouse in Long Island City, workers get $8.75 an hour; drivers make $8 and the chance of being tippedbut since the company already charges a $5 delivery fee and requires customers to pre-pay by credit card, tips are anything but a sure thing....20 to 25 percent less in wages and benefits than other non-union workers in the city
4. The (non-binding) promise FreshDirect made to the Bronx is that it will convert, within five years, to a completely green fleet of trucks....despite its high-tech gloss relies, as we've seen, on a decidedly low-tech business modellow-paid warehouse workers loading lots of trucks that are driven by low-paid workers.... as far back as 2007, the company promised to switch to biodiesel and plug-in electric vehiclespromises that have so far not come to pass.
5. John C. Liu, the city comptroller, opposed the deal, saying, For the cost of this benefits package the city could give 4,385 students full four-year scholarships to CUNY or hire 1,458 new teachers or pay for 350,000 GED test-prep programs or launch a micro-lending program for minority and women entrepreneurs.
6. Did I mention that Fresh Direct will sell to rich folks...not the poor in the South Bronx?
How FreshDirect Delivers Misery Along With Your Groceries--And How Workers and the Community are Fighting Back | | AlterNet
and
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/21/nyregion/in-bronx-freshdirect-and-land-of-great-promises.html
So...do city officials take a chance on the company hitting it big?
...are low paying jobs better than no jobs?
...how come there are no penalties for lack of compliance?
....how important is it to make sure it's a 'green industry'?
And do you like the John Liu attitude of more give-aways, the heck with jobs?
We live in interesting times....
1. The Governor, the Mayor, and the Borough President are about to hand over $129 million in public money, through tax exemptions and direct subsidies, to FreshDirect, a grocery delivery service that is notorious for underpaying its workers, has faced multiple accusations of discrimination and has been accused of using all sorts of shady tactics to block its workers from joining a union.
2. Mayor Bloomberg and borough president Diaz claimed in an op-ed that FreshDirect is a true New York success story, growing blah blah blah...company has only promised to create 1,000 jobs over 10 years,.... 300 new jobs to the South Bronx, .....potential of 3,000 jobs
3. But its delivery drivers and warehouse workers make less than $9 an hour...discrimination complaints, and is a union-buster-...40 percent of the company's employees make less than $25,000 a year. For hauling boxes in the refrigerated warehouse in Long Island City, workers get $8.75 an hour; drivers make $8 and the chance of being tippedbut since the company already charges a $5 delivery fee and requires customers to pre-pay by credit card, tips are anything but a sure thing....20 to 25 percent less in wages and benefits than other non-union workers in the city
4. The (non-binding) promise FreshDirect made to the Bronx is that it will convert, within five years, to a completely green fleet of trucks....despite its high-tech gloss relies, as we've seen, on a decidedly low-tech business modellow-paid warehouse workers loading lots of trucks that are driven by low-paid workers.... as far back as 2007, the company promised to switch to biodiesel and plug-in electric vehiclespromises that have so far not come to pass.
5. John C. Liu, the city comptroller, opposed the deal, saying, For the cost of this benefits package the city could give 4,385 students full four-year scholarships to CUNY or hire 1,458 new teachers or pay for 350,000 GED test-prep programs or launch a micro-lending program for minority and women entrepreneurs.
6. Did I mention that Fresh Direct will sell to rich folks...not the poor in the South Bronx?
How FreshDirect Delivers Misery Along With Your Groceries--And How Workers and the Community are Fighting Back | | AlterNet
and
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/21/nyregion/in-bronx-freshdirect-and-land-of-great-promises.html
So...do city officials take a chance on the company hitting it big?
...are low paying jobs better than no jobs?
...how come there are no penalties for lack of compliance?
....how important is it to make sure it's a 'green industry'?
And do you like the John Liu attitude of more give-aways, the heck with jobs?
We live in interesting times....
