Peoples World Pickets protest unfair work conditions By Joseph Reed Petticrew NEW YORK - The drones of "Boycott ... Boycott" echoed off the buildings surrounding the corner of 5th Ave and 15th St. as a determined coalition of labor activists, union members and neighborhood people picketed Abigail, a greengrocer at 75 Fifth Avenue. They are demanding that the workers in this store and others throughout the city get wages and hours that are livable and "real and permanent changes that are legally guaranteed." The workers regularly put in 12 to 14 hours a day at wages that are often well below the federal legal minimum wage, and have no health benefits or vacation/sick leave, conditions which many are increasingly fighting to change. As one resident from the line succinctly stated, "we don't want sweatshops in our neighborhood." There was mentioned the trend of owners to raise wages temporarily until the storm blows over, only to drop them at a later time - a practice reminiscent of the 19th century. It was also stated that many owners have offered bribes to their workers to keep them from testifying before the state's Attorney General on labor abuses, as many have already done. Right up the street, several locals of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America were actively picketing three construction sites on 22nd Street who are using non-union labor at greatly reduced wages to work the sites, often in violation of worker and public safety. One of the pickets pointed out a sidewalk obstruction at the site, which he said was finable of up to $1,500. Two of the sites were run by Alliance Builders and YL Interiors, and it was pointed out that none of the workers were properly clothed for the work they had to do. The union pickets voiced their protests directly to the bosses, only telling the workers that they should join the union and join the fight for better conditions for all. All in all, New Yorkers of every walk of life are becoming increasingly aware of such labor abuses and are willing to take active steps to change these conditions.
