"What are we doing today?" "We're going to check my salary." "$200" "$290" "$290?" "There's no more there?" "How many hours did you work?" "60." "60 hours for $290?" "Is that minimum wage?" "It's less than minimum wage." "Are you taping him?" "He told me he want to send a video for his family." "Immigrants make this city run." "You get settled in, and see the reality of how dollars are earned." "I'm not so into being the victim." "We basically started a war." "A study released yesterday tells a really bleak story about the way American business routinely treats low wage workers." "Employees are regularly paid less than the minimum wage." "What we're seeing is a massive expansion at the bottom of low-paying, largely service-sector jobs, and a real decimation of middle-class jobs in the aftermath of the financial crisis." "...inequality in Manhattan rivals parts of Sub-Suharan Africa." "I've worked at Hot  Crusty for seven years." "I make sandwiches in the deli area." "I like chatting with customers." "But as a worker the atmosphere is different." "It's not a place where you'd want to work unless you have to." "I was 17 when I started working at Hot  Crusty." "You say, "I'm going to New York to work!"" "But you don't know what the jobs are like." "What's up, Gonzalo?" "What now?" "Look, this machine doesn't work." "It's totally damaged." "We told them a thousand times and they won't fix it." "It's dangerous." "You can cut yourself." "[rattling]" "Workers weren't paid minimum wage or overtime." "The manager started as dishwasher and worked his way up." "That gave him a big head." "We all thought that was why he treated us the way he did." "He told us we were worthless." "We were just workers." "He could fire us anytime." "One time I was sick." "I couldn't go to work." "I said, "Sir, I need money." "I work seven days a week."" ""If I say I can't come in today, it's because I really can't."" "He said, "Sorry, but you're coming in." "You can take tomorrow off."" "We are undocumented." "But that doesn't mean they have to profit from our hunger." "[excited shouts]" "Why are you so excited guys?" "We're going to the park!" "I was 18 when I left Mexico." "I was born in Mexico City." "A city kid." "I had a lower-class life, but I had enough to get by." "You have that adrenaline pushing you to come here." "Whatever the reason, there's a feeling of adventure." "You can't cross this line..." "You're halfway across the river." "You see Mexico and the USA." "You say, "Wow, what am I doing here?"" "You might think it's not the right way." "But there in the moment, you follow your impulses." "And that's what I did." "I just had to keep on going." "Immigrant labor, legal or otherwise, is nothing short of vital to the inner workings of most New York City restaurants." "Immigration is good for the employers." "Keeps wages down." "Immigrants are less likely to complain about their working conditions." "Meanwhile workers from Hot  Crusty bakeries approached the Laundry Worker Center." "Gonzalo, tell us about Hot  Crusty." "I thought it was a corner store or something, apparently it's a very large enterprise." "Are you a baker?" "Is that what you do?" "No, I work in the deli." "I take care of the customers." "I prepare sandwich and salads." "What's happening at your location?" "The manager of the company is a tricky person, you know?" "[laughter]" "They didn't pay the minimum wage." "They pay, like, five dollars per hour." "Also we don't get a break." "We spoke with the manager." "And his answer he said, "you want to make a little more problem?" "I'm gonna call immigration." "So that's why, we tried to change the work place there." "And the company, they are very upset, but they have to..." "But they have no choice." "A new coworker said, "I used to work in a place like this."" ""There's an organization that can help."" "Membership in private-sector labor unions has plummeted in recent decades, but in its place the number of alternative labor groups have exploded." "Mahoma and Gonzalo wanted to change their workplace." "When we first meet workers we're very explicit:" "The only way to change things is by organizing." "We're talking about a power struggle." "Every day, I remember the four years I lived here without documents." "That anger has to be turned into something positive." "I turn it to organizing." "Virgilio's mentality is tenacious." "He's strong and determined with his goals." "Laundry Workers Center is a group of volunteers." "We don't have funding from foundations or unions." "He said it doesn't matter that their name says "laundry."" "They organize anyone." "One thing we do is identify new leaders." "Training those leaders is part of our vision." "I'm Mahoma Lopez, member-organizer of the Laundry Workers Center." "They, in their workplace, learn..." "They learn..." "We'll start again, okay?" "My first impression of Mahoma was that he was very shy and very humble." "You could see that his coworkers respected him and they followed his lead." "I think maybe sometimes the soft-spoken leaders are the most dangerous ones." "Gonzalo was ready for a fight." "He was really the iron fist to Mahoma's velvet glove." "Absolutely undocumented workers have the right to organize under the National Labor Relations Act." "There's no question." "Employees, the term employees, includes undocumented workers." "Where New York gives us the advantage, New York has the wage-theft prevention act that protects workers' right to receive minimum wage and overtime." "We didn't go into this thinking this was just a wage-and-hour lawsuit." "We sat and we talked about the conditions at Hot  Crusty and we started organizing." "A leader is always in the front leading by example." "You have to be calling everyone every single day, having a real conversation." "So we're going to be doing role-plays and you'll try to recruit me." "Who's going to be the first person?" "Can I sit with you if you don't mind?" "Of course you can sit with me." "You feel good today?" "Yeah I feel good today." "You don't like to shake hands?" "No, I don't like to shake hands." "I'm eating." "They give you pickles?" "Sorry?" "They gave you pickles?" "Because they didn't give pickles to me." "What are you doing?" "Are you selling a product?" "Are you selling...?" "No I don't sell anything." "So why are you coming to bother me?" "I'm not trying to bother you." "We're brothers." "We're Latinos who speak Spanish." "I'm eating and I don't want to be bothered." "[laughter]" "An organizer is a strategist." "A Visionary." "Our goal is basically to have a social movement." "Transformative organizing, to really transform to revolutionize our society." "We turn now to an issue that's gained prominence in the last year: increasing inequality in the United States." "What started as a camp of demonstrators in New York's financial zone grew to a nation-wide political movement." "But after the militarized crackdown on protestors the media coverage died down." "[shouting]" "To be honest, I'm kind of disconnected from the world." "I didn't even know Occupy Wall Street existed." "I saw on the news they were occupying a park." "I said, "They're nuts!" "What are they doing there?"" "So that's the report from the Hot  Crusty workers." "We're also planning different types of actions." "We know that a law is for the master, a master's tool." "We know that they are using it at their disposal and we need to be looking for other innovative ways." "And this means we're asking for support from the community." "You said there's gonna be action coming up starting tomorrow?" "They're activists, radicals." "They don't mind getting arrested." "They can take the risk and support us." "Okay are there any questions for the Laundry Worker folks?" "Okay so we'll all be out there at 63rd and 3rd avenue tomorrow, right?" "What we wanted at the beginning was simple." "Minimum wage for those who weren't getting it." "Overtime for those who weren't getting it." "The paid vacation days that the company had taken away." "Safe conditions in the workplace." "And most importantly, respect." "In the way the managers treat us." "The first step was to deliver a letter of demands to the company." "A list of dreams, you could say." "The manager had no idea what was waiting for him." "You can imagine his face when he received the demand letter." "They make this in Colombia and Ecuador." "Pork ribs." "Salad, rice, potatoes." "And corn, which we ate already." "Diana arrived at the store two years after me." "Small as she is, she can defend herself." "There comes a time when you say, "Enough already!"" "The manager insulted me in front of the customers." "My coworkers were witnesses." "I grabbed my things and left." "Things are terrible at work." "There's such animosity between the two groups." "One group is on the side of the management." "The other group is just us workers." "It's scary to think of what will happen." "Thank you for all you've given us, Lord." "Thank you for allowing us to start this campaign." "We ask that you give strength to Mahoma and Diana." "Give strength to Virgilio, who works so hard for us." "And open doors, so it will work out." "In the name of Jesus, amen." "Hi sir, how are you doing?" "Some information about Hot  Crusty?" "Things are good yeah yeah." "You know we always come out, represent." "Oh so you all is..." "You all is the bad guys, protesting!" "No we're the good guys." "We're bringing change to the place." "I understand." "Hi, support Hot  Crusty workers trying to organize?" "I started out in the service industry, that was my first job." "And I could remember at that age how horrible this job was." "The treatment was horrible." "But I was a young, white girl." "My treatment was nothing even close to the treatment of the back of the house." "That's really how I got into labor issues." "No it's even more helpful if you still patronize them, say, "the community supports the workers' right to organize."" "Okay, have a nice day!" "[banjo tuning] [banjo strumming and picking]" "♪ ♪" "I like the country music and I like how sounds the banjo." "It reminds me of a seventies show, really popular in Mexico... called the Dukes of Hazzard." "Hot  Crusty is a chain." "We started in that one store." "Little by little we extended to the other stores." "At first, it was just the name of the store." "But the company didn't respond." "So we made flyers with photos of the owners and the managers." "It works really well." "It really puts people in their place." "You got a lawyer?" "Don't touch me." "Ok." "Don't touch me, only." "Stop stealing money from my workers." "Don't go away." "I'll call the police to arrest you." "Yeah, call." "Call the police, no problem." "I worked the night shift here for five years." "Here they didn't pay me overtime, vacations, any of that." "I guarantee it." "We started seeing flyers around 14th Street." "That's how I learned about the 63rd Street campaign." "I said, "This looks like a good thing for all of us!"" "I decided to join up with 63rd street." "Their wages were stolen." "And look at how the police is just joking with the owners." "The system doesn't work—for poor people." "First you just hand out flyers, right?" "Then you start doing, maybe like bigger rallies, maybe a march." "Eventually you start going to things like a strike, right?" "Eventually the workers could, like, walk off, or we can shut it down, take it over." "If they don't hear the workers, that's when you start escalating." "[whistle blows]" "If they don't respond to our demands, we'll escalate." "Bigger things than just handing out flyers." "The company was willing to come to the table to discuss issues from the past in terms of paying unpaid wages and overtime that the workers were owed." "But the workers put forward demands that would require substantive changes in the workplace." "Changes to the terms and conditions of their employment." "Their lawyer was clear." ""My client is not legally obligated to give benefits."" ""Unless they're dealing with a union."" "We decided to form our own union." "How is everybody doing?" "A little nervous." "But the company hasn't wanted to negotiate with the workers." "The amount they offered was a joke, given what they owe." "The flyers have worked, but we reached a limit." "We can't spend 5 or 6 years passing out flyers." "In Mexico I never participated in political parties or unions." "I was afraid because it was unknown." "Especially in a foreign country." "I had a feeling I'd get fired." "I'm older, and it will be hard to get another job." "They think you're not productive." "But on the other hand, there's your pride as a worker." "When I left there, with a suitcase full of dreams..." "I thought, "My family will live like kings."" "Obviously, those are just dreams." "In Mexico, wages are very low." "About six dollars a day." "My older kids didn't have the resources to study." "I need my youngest daughter to succeed." "She's in college now." "I had to come here to make sure she has all she needs." "How much are you sending?" "$250" "When you send them money, they think it's easy to make it." "It's not true." "My daughter says, "Papa, I need you." "Come back!"" "When you tell me that you are graduating," "I will buy a ticket and return to Mexico." "I have to be there for that." "They say we're criminals." "But they are the real criminals." "They steal our wages." "Here's a piece of news that odds are won't surprise you." "Union membership is down." "Life is a meritocracy." "You work hard to create something, which is sort of directly opposite to unions." "Unions seem kind of irrelevant." "The board agent is named Susan." "There are two boxes." "Yes, you want the union, or no." "You know how to vote, right?" "Exactly, "Yes."" "I have to vote." "I'm sorry the voting closes at 7:15." "The voting is closed." "It's too late." "It's too late to vote." "And I don't speak Spanish." "It's too late to vote." "It closes at 7:15, okay?" "You're supposed to vote by 7:15." "Mahoma." "I'm in the computer center." "They're telling me that—" "First of all, I don't understand what she's saying." "I don't speak Spanish." "Go speak to your steward." "You don't vote here." "There's no voting here." "You feel the pressure." "As if it were the actual day!" "Could you tell them I'm not the bad guy?" "You better tell them you told me to do that." "You don't take no for an answer." "You just don't take no for an answer." "After the voting, they open the box in front of the lawyers." "So it's a clear vote, not like in Mexico." "Where they put more votes on one side or another." "We're not afraid anymore." "We've thrown ourselves into this." "Let's show them the power we have." "We knew that the management would approach us somehow." "To intimidate us." "To stop this process." "We were working, around noon, when a person showed up." "He said that he worked for the Labor Department." ""I'm here to discuss the good and bad things about the union."" "We said, "Who are you?" "Can you give us your card?"" "He said, "I don't give my card to workers, only managers."" "When he takes his phone out he drops his card." "Omar was mopping the floor and he covered the card with his mop." "His company specializes in "disorganizing" workers." "It's an anti-union firm." "The election is close." "They're trying to turn the workers against us." "I need to provide my family with economic stability." "Isn't that what it's all about?" "I pursued my wife for about three years." "We're Christian, but she's more deeply involved in that." "I'm not that into religion." "We respect each other as a couple." "But I don't think she agrees with what I'm doing." "She's Puerto Rican, born here." "She believes the law will defend her, and all that." "I tell her, "You're wrong."" ""You're living in a bubble and you don't want to see."" "I work as a home health aid." "The pay is not too good." "I have to work a lot of hours so we can make ends meet." "Right now Mahoma is out of the house a lot." "I feel like he doesn't have to be in every single action or every single meeting." "I go to a Pentecostal church." "Our pastor will say that now, you know in the end times, a lot of movements will pop out of nowhere and not all the movements are good." "When Mahoma told me that he had Occupy Wall Street helping him out" "I didn't know what to think." "And I'm afraid that he might get arrested, he might get deported and I might get the phone call that,"I'm not coming home because this happened or that happened."" "[people chanting]" "What is this for?" "A march for International Workers Day." "I see." "Good luck to them." "Good morning everyone!" "In this building!" "He hired a consultant firm to scare the workers." "We got hundreds of people here." "We actually didn't expect to get a turnout that people." "People have been really loud, really engaged..." "Get a job you commie scum!" "Thank you sir, I take that as an honor." "[police sirens wailing]" "This is my first time." "I think it's worth it." "I used to say, "The marches!" "Those noisy people making a scene!"" ""They could do something more productive, no?"" "That was my ignorance." "In organizing you realize that changes in society are made by movements." "We are unstoppable, another world is possible!" "We're here and we're not leaving!" "We are the union!" "The people's union!" "♪ ♪" "Immigrant activists have organized May Day in New York City for years." "We need them to stop the deportations!" "For those who are in our movement who are undocumented the risk is very high for them." "Let's be mindful that some of us can't risk arrest!" "We all hate the police state!" "But that doesn't mean we can't protect our community!" "The Hot  Crusty campaign is part of a larger movement that's been growing in the U.S." "and it's something that can't be ignored." "It can't be stressed enough how critical it is to organize low wage industry." "You're constantly confronted with people who tell that it's impossible." "These are jobs with high turnover, these are jobs with vulnerable workers." "But by raising the lowest bar, we really push everything above it." "For so long the American people believed that low-wage jobs were for illegal immigrants or teenagers." "The reality of the U.S. economy is that this is the future of our economy" "We're organizing to have more strength and power!" "Keep marching, keep fighting." "We're gonna eat the 1%." "[cheers and applause]" "There were about 22 people at Hot  Crusty." "But there are always some who side with the boss." "The manager's family." "His brother-in-law, cousin and two daughters worked there." "Obviously they weren't with us." "Some had no family ties to him." "But they believed he could give them job security." "At the time of the election, we felt conflicted." "What's going to happen?" "We're here at 26 Federal Plaza which is the building that houses the National Labor Relations Board where today's union election is being held for the Hot  Crusty Workers Association but it's also the home of immigration enforcement." "The workers had a chance to settle." "The attorneys from the other side are so worried about this election" "They are basically dangling money in front of the workers, saying, "This can all go away."" "They know they've lost." "They offered some workers a month's pay without having to work." "I couldn't sleep last night because of the election." "They said, "How can we give you benefits if you're not a union?"" "So okay, so..." "Now they'll get the union they asked for." "How did it go?" "Good, good, very good." "My hand trembled when I made my X." "The likelihood of winning an election and getting a first contract in a situation like Hot  Crusty is so small that most people don't try." "I think we'll win." "Don't just think it—we'll win!" "We're very positive, so I think we're going to win." "Yes." "Virgilio, relax!" "Okay." "Stop freaking out, because it's not productive." "I'm serious." "You feel the stress?" "[laughter]" "I'm nervous to see the result." "Six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve." "Six, seven, eight." "[applause]" "Brother!" "[cheering]" "We won twelve to eight, man." "Beautiful thing, a beautiful thing." "Start to finish." "Another reason to celebrate is that Ben finished lawyer's school." "He's going to be the best lawyer we have to say hurrah to him." "Thousands of people graduate from law school every year in this city alone." "Nobody wins elections like you guys did!" "That never happens!" "To the Hot  Crusty Workers Association!" "Cheers, union boss!" "You never have more power as a worker in this country." "He has to negotiate with you." "A small independent union is free from the bureaucracy that plagues the bigger unions." "They are also free to explore maybe alternative tactics." "There is no guarantee that anything substantively will change." "That's going to require an ongoing struggle that goes beyond the election itself." "What's Mahoma like as a person?" "Physically?" "Personality." "And what's Gonzalo like?" "I don't have to answer that, do I?" "Well, answer however you like." "What's it like organizing with Gonzalo?" "Can't we avoid the question?" "So I don't have to lie?" "When we started all this, we made a commitment." "I believed he would see it through." "He would run from place to place going to the meetings." "Until one day..." "On Thursday, the manager says he has something to offer me." "Something I can't pass up." "He says the store is bankrupt, and he has the solution." "One of the investors would support him to take over." "He says, "I'd give you ten percent and five percent to Gonzalo."" ""But you would have to say no to the union."" ""You and Gonzalo would be managers."" "I said I have an ethical commitment to the workers." "He says, "Don't think about them, think about your family."" "The next day, Gonzalo began to change." "He missed meetings, he wouldn't answer the phone." "He was one of our leaders." "I think they found his price." "They offered him a percentage." "He chose to follow a different path." "I had a conversation with him." "I was completely sure he had betrayed us." "How did it feel?" "Fucking awful." "I only have one thing to say." "Sometimes things aren't as they seem." "There were rumors I was talking to management." "Providing information." "The union thinks I left because I sold out." "But no, it was purely my decision." "I lost my faith in everything." "I couldn't handle the pressure at the shop." "I have to do what's best for my family." "I wish them luck." "But I don't see them winning there because things are getting ugly." "We just got a letter from them." "It says they haven't paid rent in three months." "And the landlord wants to throw them out." "The deadline is the 31st." "We have eight days." "We know that closing the store is a strategy." "Are they in the red?" "I don't think so." "They waste raw materials." "I agree with you based on the stuff we've seen, that they make enough assets to pay the rent, we believe they do." "It's an excuse." "We're not just talking about money." "They've paid that." "It's also about power." "They have to negotiate with you just to change your schedule." "That's what's hard for them, apart from the raises." "We're still here and we're strong." "We can't let them win." "We could mobilize the entire community." "And occupy the workplace." "We have a great thing here which is basically Occupy Wall Street." "You're the right person to advise us." "My coworkers won't have much trouble finding new jobs." "But I have to keep my feet on the ground." "At my age, it's difficult." "But we all have to fight for our jobs." "This is how we support our families." "And today, now that we won a union... why does the company have to close now?" "Think about it." "If they close, we lose our jobs." "What do we have to lose?" "It's something heroic we can do." "All or nothing." "Would everyone agree with an action like that?" "Yes?" "You don't look very excited!" "It's going to be historic." "No one can talk, please!" "No one can talk about this." "We started this." "Now we have to finish it." "So I don't know where everybody else left off with our campaign at Hot  Crusty." "The workers at a meeting on Thursday voted to take direct action and they want to occupy the workplace on the 31st, on the day they close." "We can get people who are arrest-able inside that building with certain amount of workers." "At the same time I don't want a mob of Occupy activists showing up who have no connection with the labor movement and want to take radical action just to take radical action." "But this is like the opportunity to be actually part of something that actually matters." "You're right." "Everyone else is like, let's go create a f—ing spectacle outside Bank of America, or in the g——n financial district again." "Spectacles are easy." "They are shows." "What happens when the show's over?" "Everyone goes home, you know?" "But this is different." "We're actually asking for real demands here, are we not?" "I just want to treat this with care." "The majority of the workers are undocumented, they can lose everything." "So they should be leading the struggle, and we should be taking their lead." "Not a bunch of kids." "That's right, it's their struggle." "They can give the f—ing orders." "At zero hour, the company decided to offer the workers a deal." "An opportunity for the shop to remain open so long as the workers would make enormous concessions in negotiating their collective bargaining agreement." "There aren't a lot of legal remedies in a case where an employer decides to just close the shop and leave to avoid negotiating the contract." "No we didn't agree on anything." "These people are a bunch of tricky bastards." "He must think we're stupid a—holes." "Our sense, Mahoma's sense is that this is all a sham." "We're just going to move forward tomorrow with the plan which is to take direct action in the workplace." "What happens when you have a group of workers who do everything by the book." "They win all the way, and the boss just finds a way to scr— them over anyway?" "We won't allow it." "I was working." "Mahoma texts me:" ""We're on our way."" "[faint shouting]" "We were intervening to stop the store from closing." "It's really not right." "We don't know what will happen." "As a business owner... if you violate my rights, you'll face the consequences." "Because we've changed." "Our eyes are open now." "[cheering]" "Long live the strike!" "Who's ready?" "Let's go, let's go." "[cheering]" "This is for responsible citizens so you can look into the camera and say, I support workers' rights." "I support workers' rights." "But, but, the economy is very bad right now." "I mean everyone has to compromise." "I'm sure the workers still want to work here." "I met the owner and he's a very nice guy." "Right, the workers do want to work here, but the guy wants to close the store." "They covered the cameras so we workers wouldn't get in trouble." "Ok, this is really happening." "It was pretty exciting." "It says there's one more camera." "My boss is hiding." "We are scared but this is worth it." "At that moment, someone came in with a bicycle." "He shows his badge." "And says, "I'm police."" "Excuse me!" "Um Mark, the cops, the cops just got here." "So let me actually--I'll call you right back." "Send over some units..." "Take the tape off, let's see who did that." "Mic check." "The cops are here." "We're gonna leave on our own terms." "Can I buy something from there?" "The customers kept coming into the store." ""What are you doing?" "Giving away free stuff?"" ""Two bagels for a dollar?"" "♪ Solidarity forever, Solidarity forever. ♪" "I mean, this is good." "But in a way it's a waste of time." "This is gonna be hashed out in a courtroom somewhere." "Without the labor movement you wouldn't have half the laws that you've got now!" "♪ The union makes us strong ♪" "The cops, they got union?" "Why the workers can't get union?" "If the NYPD wasn't paying you properly or if anything happens to you" "If the community rallied behind you, you'd appreciate that would you?" "You would." "Yeah, but they don't, I know that for a fact." "I know, and that's what's wrong." "This is what's right." "You guys should be supporting this, you are workers." "Mahoma!" "[steady drumbeat]" "♪ ♪" "Refusing to negotiate with immigrant workers!" "This is bulls——." "The NYPD, what are they being used for?" "To break up the job action of a couple dozen activists trying to keep a profitable business open and jobs for the workers employed there." "I know this has to be illegal!" "[laughs]" "Officer, okay, just watch out for my wrists." "Listen, we don't wanna scene." "All right?" "Don't play games." "Okay?" "We'll be back!" "We'll be back!" "24 hour picket!" "24 hour picket!" "The store is closed." "Now what?" "What do we do?" "We're starting a picket line and we're not moving." "Until the management says the people are going back to work." "We could block the intersection." "We could re-open the store." "There are people who can do different things." "It can't be just a press conference." "It has to be something big." "Something surprising." "Maybe starting Monday you can serve coffee." "You buy coffee, you charge a little bit, maybe for free." "People come by and you explain to people why you're out in the streets." "Basically we could open our own store in front of this one." "See you Monday." "Come try our cafe!" "[upbeat Latin music]" "♪ ♪" "C'mon, we have coffee, we have bagels!" "How much do you pay?" "$10 an hour?" "If bagels don't make us popular on the Upper East Side, I don't know what will." "I've lived in the neighborhood for two and a half years." "I've been going to Hot  Crusty every single day." "These guys work seven days a week, okay?" "They do overtime." "They work overnight." "The fact is they should be paid for the hours they worked." "I don't care if they are undocumented." "This is where I have my coffee in the morning and I can't anymore." "So I'm mad as hell!" "Every time we have a fight we lose, this time we gotta win!" "Victory for the Hot  Crusty workers!" "Yo, you need to open up Hot  Crusty, I need to get my lunch." "Pay your workers more money you bum." "This is a problem when you talk to union guys:" ""Oh they're taking our jobs, they should go back where they came from."" "If they had had that attitude in 1904 when my grandmother came from Ireland," "I wouldn't be here." "New York is a union town." "No way it's gonna fly." "We're gonna fight." "[horn honks]" "He's dancing!" "[cheering]" "Oh my god." "Now we're all liberated." "Until victory!" "Forever!" "You wanna be rich?" "Go to work." "Don't take a day off." "I've never taken a day off." "I can prove I work seven days a week, I've hired over 150 people." "That's excellent." "I make Air Force and Navy leather jackets for the government." "So you work for military people." "You get government contracts..." "I'm not opposed to and I don't think a lot of people here are opposed to but you don't make a business and do all that stuff without a little help." "What help?" "Go to a bank and borrow money." "Not everybody can borrow money." "Have you ever heard of redlining?" "I mean I grew up in Harlem, you think people just willy nilly give us money up there?" "I succeeded in life, multiple times." "Only hard work gets it." "Go get a business, rent the store..." "We appreciate your suggestions, we're gonna take it." "If you can--if you can support us, because you know--you know how hard..." "I am supporting you!" "I just gave you more knowledge than you would have gotten in your college." "It's horrible that it's happening to business owners in the city." "It's driving people out of the city to open businesses." "Dude, you are crazy!" "No, you're crazy." "Listen, I own restaurants, so I know." "You don't own a business so you don't know what you're talking about." "Yesterday we met the attorney for investors who are interested in operating a Hot  Crusty out of 1201 Second Avenue." "They are clearly petrified by the ongoing actions here." "We live in a brand world, you know." "People go to Hot  Crusty, it's a thing here in New York City." "And you start challenging that name and the pressure is on." "[laughs]" "It's a cloned dog, man." "Where did he come from?" "What's his background?" "We don't know anything about him." "Do you know what he looks like?" "He looks like from TV show, something like that." "A huge man." "He looks nice." "A big, huge man?" "It's not a done deal yet." "There's a lot of talk, but talk is cheap." "There he is!" "Hey, how are you doing, Mr. Anthony?" "What's going on here today." "I told you before, we're not troublemakers." "We're very good workers but at the same time, the community want to know what's the future of the workers." "The future is to get it open, we're gonna do a little renovation inside and all the old employment's coming back, everybody." "Okay, so that's amazing for us." "I'm very excited." "I can't way to get in there and work with everybody." "I really am." "I've never dealt with unions before, but they seem pretty easy at the negotiating tables and to bring all the employees back is a benefit to Hot  Crusty." "So that wasn't a big issue for me." "Everybody get in, close." "It's confirmed." "I really can't say more." "I'm really happy." "Sounds like he's genuine, but once we start to negotiate that contract, that's when it get's tricky." "Yesterday night, like, around 6:30, we got information that they would not reopen." "And that the landlord signed the lease with another company." "It was too good to be true." "The supposed owner came here to act a part." "These people are just toying with us." "I don't think that's fair." "This campaign has been unorthodox in many ways because we have more victories than setbacks." "So we are in this moment-- we have a little setback, an obstacle." "We need to clarify with Mr. Iluzzi because if their position right now is that they want this business open then there is no reason why you can't work with the management on getting the doors open." "We need to figure out whether he's being genuine or not." "Either way we need to get more information." "We can dig for information to justify the conspiracies we invented in our heads or..." "We don't want to come up with a conspiracy we want to come up with a strategy at this moment in the picket line the morale of the workers are down." "If we don't win, it would be a bad example for every single worker." "So this is not about finding a conspiracy it is about finding the right strategy to make us win." "And I think basically you're just bailing out,to be honest..." "That's such a cop out!" "That's not what's happening here." "[muffled shouting]" "We're here to...we're, today... wait, wait, I'm not finished." "Virgilio—he's a good organizer." "He's a good lawyer." "We're here to do something productive." "We're friends too." "I don't think it's good fighting because in the end something happens, if we won, if we win, or lose, we're still gonna organize together.." "so for me it's more important to stay together." "Let's call Anthony right now." "[line ringing]" "Hey Anthony, how are you doing?" "It's me, Mahoma, from Hot  Crusty." "Ehhhh.." "How are you?" "What happened?" "You're not happy to hear me?" "Yeah, I'm happy." "What's going on?" "I have a meeting with the community and the workers." "You think it's possible to have a meeting..." "You know it's not a matter of me and you, or me and the unions." "It's a matter of the landlord." "I mean I was there Friday everything worked out fine and then my lawyer got a phone call Saturday everything was changed." "They went with Pax." "If it's the case, the workers and the union can put pressure on this company..." "The best thing for you to do is to get out there and picket, get out there and show the frustration that we have." "Yeah it's worth a shot, sure." "I think we can do good things there, you know?" "Yeah, see you soon, bye." "Why would he tell the union, "go picket?"" "I mean, I think this guy is completely genuine." "Maybe I have a hang up about tough-talking Italian guys, I don't know what it is." "I mean, we need to put proverbial bricks through the window." "Proverbial!" "We need to put pressure on the landlord to go with Anthony by supporting Anthony and also by scaring the s— out of Pax." "No no, let's be clear, let's scare them." "This is what you are going to be facing when you go inside this store." "We heard the Pax are planning to move there and we want to make it very clear that if Pax is going to be moving there our position in the community is that they need to recognize the union." "They need to rehire the workers without any condition." "Excuse me, can you stop recording?" "No way," "We're not interested in that location." "Pax and Europa will not be opening up any store in that location any time soon.." "I think the people are very scared right now to try to open Pax there, right?" "I don't think they like the idea now." "Well Anthony so have a good day, thank you very much." "Okay, bye." "He says they'll sign the lease Wednesday." "He says they'll sign the lease Wednesday." "I asked, "Are you one hundred percent sure?"" "He said, "Wednesday I'll be one hundred percent sure."" "How does it feel?" "The same." "Until they sign, I won't feel any better." "They presented a bad proposal." "It guarantees us nothing." "If we sign, they could dissolve the union in six months." "It only benefits them." "I'm gonna tell my union buddies around the corner, second avenue subway, to come over here and sign." "If their profit margins were only like 50 cents an hour raise, they are terrible business people." "Like, that's terrible." "We're willing to lose everything but we won't give in." "If we stay united, we won't be beat." "They want to scr— us but we won't let them." "We have a responsibility." "If it's having an effect, we have to stay out here." "If they want us to end the picket, we have to come to an agreement." "Where we benefit." "I was discouraged by day 20." "I was inspired by the people." "The old guys from the store." "Because they're there." "It was sad because sometimes there were only a couple of us there." "With the single idea:" "Something has to come of this." "To the Hot  Crusty bakery workers in New York City solidarity greetings from the docks of Oakland, California" "[chanting] [horn honks]" "A lot of people look at these small places and think, oh maybe their bottom lines are a little tight to justify all the bad stuff they are doing." "This is the norm, this is not an aberration in the food service industry." "The Darden group, the largest full service dining group in the world, the Walmart of restaurants." "Similar stuff is going on." "[honks, cheers and applause]" "We just came back from a lock out and if we didn't have support of our fellow unionists we'd still be locked out." "I just came back from two days in Chicago where teachers in Chicago went on strike." "We need to stand behind each other." "The middle class is evaporating." "They're supposed to be invisible." "The food's supposed to arrive, but you're not supposed to see them." "Workers we make the city work." "We enable the bankers and all the real estate people to make their money." "But we can also shut the city down." "Big unions like us, we gotta stand behind these guys." "Come out here and stand with them." "They need us, and we need them." "[cheers and applause]" "[horn honking]" "We're this close to signing a contract." "Today we're reading their proposal." "We need everyone to agree." "This is a decisive moment in our campaign." "To protect what we have we need the power to hire." "To bring in people who won't vote against the union." "The contract says any hire must be a union hire." "Effective 2013, the employees get paid vacations." "They will count your time of service under the previous employer." "So basically we can go back to work and take a vacation!" "Tactically, I wouldn't recommend it!" "But that's what the contract says." "Everyone is saying it's a good contract." "For being our first." "It gives us a lot of power as workers." "We won just cause, sick days." "The union can choose who works at Hot  Crusty." "It's called a union hiring hall." "I for one agree." "Me too." "Would you consider this a victory?" "Here is the fruit of our work." "All this time we were out here." "[horn honking]" "After this we have a responsibility." "There were people with us when things were difficult." "We ought to make the same commitment to others." "We'll probably go back to work." "But let's all realize, our fight isn't over." "In NYC today workers in McDonalds, and other fast food joints walked off the job demanding better pay and a union." "Hey hey, ho ho, $7.25 has got to go!" "We can't survive on $7.25!" "We all believe that we've been disrespected, we've been belittled we've been played on on an ignorant level to where they feel like we think we're not better than $7.25 but we definitely are." "We deserve better and we work hard for the money." "In New York City, it's important to raise wages." "Not just at McDonald's but for everyone." "Dear friends, welcome to the first meeting of the Hot  Crusty Workers Association." "I think that deserves applause." "[applause]" "This is our family." "We spend more time in the shop than in our own homes." "The Hot  Crusty Workers Association is independent." "It's just the people that are in this room." "You guys make the rules about how the union operates.." "We're pleased to see new faces with new ideas." "I welcome you." "I feel blessed to become part of this organization." "To work at a place where I can't be fired without a fight." "The Hot  Crusty Workers Association is very unique we're talking about something that we have to defend every single time the contract expires." "We're gonna fight for increasing the salary." "We're gonna fight for more sick days and we're gonna fight for better benefits." "That's a beginning." "[applause]" "If it's the case that the company closes and we need to go outside to the streets to picketing" "I want to know if you are gonna be able...?" "If that should come to be, I'll be there." "That's great." "I feel good that you feel like that." "We need to be together, we need to fight." "I've been fighting all my life, you know what I mean?" "My husband has a new campaign." "And this is Mahoma, from Laundry Workers Center as well." "[cheering]" "He has changed." "He's not that shy, quiet person." "I want to show him that even though I wasn't there for him at the protests in the past that I had his back." "What made me change my mind was because I saw the cause that he believed in was a cause really worthy to fight for." "Our two small sons, I want them grow up to be just like their dad a fighter who doesn't give up." "No one should be working poor!" "Don't run away don't be a coward, please!" "I would tell Mahoma, you're gonna get in trouble, you're gonna get arrested you're gonna be deported." "My husband would tell me that you cannot be afraid to lift your voice and express your opinion because you have the right to do it." "Give me a whole wheat bagel, toasted, jelly only." "Scooped out, can you scoop it out for me please?" "I'm very glad that they're back in the neighborhood and they got more benefits which I'm sure are well deserved." "I'm alright!" "Working hard here." "What do we occupy next?" "I haven't been here since..." "I got arrested right there." "We have eggs, muffins, danishes, paninis, fruit salad." "I'll take a justice sandwich." "That one is hard to find!" "Can I get large coffee with half and half, no sugar?" "We knew we would win." "I'm letting the attorney for the former company know that Gretel is working the register again." "About a dozen times throughout the campaign the union was told by the company that Gretel would never work here again." "So that when he gets to work today this is what he's gonna see." "This is a good victory." "It matters, you know it matters because you guys come from a long way." "And to stand up to do this... hell's yeah!" "Way way much better than what most people would expect." "I believe that between a boss and a worker, there must be respect." "And respect is earned." "There are just laws, and unjust laws." "There is no justice unless you make your own." "Fast food workers walked off the job today in dozens of cities continuing their push to unionize and to get higher pay." "We're raising families, we're doing hard work and we deserve to get a living wage for what we do." "We've taken whatever our jobs have been handing us it's like a dictatorship when we go to work every day so I feel that now is the time for not only me but all workers all across the nation to stand up and speak out."