Flaum's Workers Blocked from Presenting Their Side of the Story at Yeshiva University Safe Working Conditions Discussion
Workers at Flaum Appetizing found themselves unable to participate in a safe working conditions discussion hosted by Uri L'Tzedek, which featured former Flaum's employees.
- (1888PressRelease) December 02, 2011 - Flaum Appetizing was unable to represent itself at a safe working conditions dialogue hosted by social justice organization Uri L'Tzedek at Yeshiva University's Stern College for Women on Nov. 29, 2011. The event featured discussion on Flaum's 2008 labor dispute, which the company has addressed on its new website at http://www.RealFlaums.com/dispute/.
"The Uri L'Tzedek event included testimonials from former Flaum's employees about the labor dispute, our first and only dispute in almost 100 years of manufacturing quality kosher foods. The labor dispute concerned only 11 employees of the thousands of people that have worked at Flaum's, and we feel that their testimonials are not representative of the company's safe working conditions," said Flaum Appetizing's Aryeh Silbert.
Although Flaum's labor dispute involved a very small number of employees, the issue of the company's safe working environment has received a disproportionate amount of media coverage. The International Workers of the World (IWW), a group that once unsuccessfully attempted to unionize Flaum employees, has used the labor dispute to promote its own agenda.
Co-hosted by Uri L'Tzedek and Yeshiva University's Social Justice Society, the labor discussion concerns worker's rights in kosher foods production. Although Yeshiva University's Stern College is serving as the location of the discussion, Yeshiva University has not claimed ownership of the event. In fact, Uri L'Tzedek recently changed the event's title on its website from "Uri L'Tzedek And Yeshiva University Presents: Ethical Eating And How You Can Be A Kosher Food Activist!" to just "Ethical Eating And How You Can Be A Kosher Food Activist!" The group later sent an email promoting the event that still included the original title.
"What was initially peddled as a Yeshiva University sponsored event was really just a student meeting. We believe this kind of false promotion is representative of the entire event and its coverage of the Flaum's labor dispute. Committed to telling a one-sided story, Uri L'Tzedek did not respond to our requests to participate; Yeshiva University got back to us less than two hours before the scheduled event, at which point it was too late for us to coordinate an appearance with our employees. We would have liked to have a chance for Flaum Appetizing and our employees to address the labor dispute and the company's commitment to providing a safe working environment," Silbert said.
Similar to Uri L'Tzedek, IWW has spread misinformation about Flaum's safe working conditions and the company's response to the labor dispute, even mentioning Uri L'Tzedek as a group of rabbis "rebuffed" by Flaum's. In reality, Flaum's has always acted within the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and maintains a clean, safe working environment at its 20,000-square-foot plant in East Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
To read about the Flaum's labor dispute, visit http://www.RealFlaums.com.
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