Workers in the Bronx have been on strike now for nearly four months. When Brynwood Partners took over the Stella D’Oro cookie factory last year it didn’t take long for them to announce wage cuts (one dollar an hour over a five year period), a reduction in vacation days, and a plan to require that workers pay for their own health insurance. The workers fought back and have been on strike since August. GRITtv speaks to Joyce Alston, President of the Bakery, Confectionary, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers Union Local 50, Michael Filipou a Shop Steward at the factory, and Ed Marrero a member of BCTGM, Local 50.

Alston says that despite the troubling economic picture, now is the time for workers to stand. Marrero, who has worked for the company for 29 years, has had to take out loans to pay for his son’s education and is having trouble making basic payments. But he says the only other choice was to take a five dollar pay cut over five years, which wasn’t’ acceptable. The workers have received a tremendous amount of support from other unions, workers, city councilmen, state senators and Bronx borough elected officials.