(BUFFALO, NEW YORK) - On an annual day set aside to celebrate the gains made by Working People, Organized Labor’s focus at the 2018 Buffalo AFL-CIO Labor Day Parade zeroed in on the Workers’ struggle at the Wendt Corporation.  A new Study unveiled before the parade started, which was authored by the Western New York Workers’ Rights Board, exposed a multitude of Labor, Health & Safety Violations at the company’s Suburban Buffalo Plant, where newly-Unionized Workers have been fighting for a first contract for 17 months now.

During a pre-parade press conference, area Labor Leaders, Local, State and National Political Officials and Wendt Workers themselves joined together to address the many problems at Wendt’s Cheektowaga Plant, which specializes in engineering, producing and selling scrap metal recycling machinery to the global market.  Around 100 Workers are employed at the facility and there have been around 30 Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) Charges filed with the National Labor Relations Board (ULP) against the company over the course of time.

After taking an in-depth look at what has transpired over the course of time, the WNY Workers’ Rights Board Study - which was sponsored by Buffalo’s Coalition for Economic Justice (CEJ) and titled: Wendt Corporation, Don’t Shred Your Workers’ Rights - recommended the following: Improving safety and health conditions in the plant; Hiring properly-training and educated in-house Human Resource and Labor Relations Professionals; Respecting Production Workers and their Union by signing a mutually-acceptable Collective Bargaining Agreement; and Living up to the Wendt Family’s stated values to create a company that respects all its Employees (To Read the Full Report, Go To: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JNJBMiMjJ-FdBSMAR8Rc2k6FeYetQYvq/view).

“I ‘just want to afford a decent living for my wife and two boys,’” Jeff George, a 12-year Industrial Painter (Pictured Below, Holding the Microphone/WNYLaborToday.com Photo) at Wendt, who joined his Co-Workers in voting by a 70% margin for Union Representation with Ironworkers Shop Local 576, said at the news conference. 

“Despite the ‘mistreatment’ (the Workers have received from management), the ‘Anti-Union tactics, harassment and intimidation - and the attempts to silence us, we are not going anywhere.’  We are ‘stronger than ever and we will be here one day longer.’  This day (Labor Day) ‘epitomizes what we are and why we are all here today,” he said.

Noel Pauley, a Burn-Table Operator at Wendt - who was also joined by his son (Pictured Above/WNYLaborToday.com Photo), also spoke: “We’re ‘not asking for much.’  ‘We want security in our workplace.’  And ‘we’re standing up for what’s right.’  ‘We want a safe workplace.’  A ‘fair’ wage.  ‘Respect on the job.’  Unions ‘built this country and companies have exploited it.’  ‘We’re in this fight for our families.’”

It was the second in-depth study done on the Wendt plant.  In July, the Western New York Council on Occupational Safety & Health (WNYCOSH) released its report, entitled Risky Business, which uncovered serious lapses in safety training and a lack of operational and administrative controls that WNYCOSH said created a heightened risk of occupational illness and injury - and even death (For More, Read WNYLaborToday.com’s Thursday, July 12th Labor News Report, titled: ‘Risky Business:’ WNY Council On Occupational Safety & Health Report Released On Wendt Corporation’s Safety Record - And It ‘Isn’t Good’ - http://www.wnylabortoday.com/news/2018/07/12/buffalo-and-western-new-york-labor-news/risky-business-wny-council-on-occupational-safety-health-report-released-on-wendt-corporation-s-safety-record-and-it-isn-t-good/)  

Western New York AFL-CIO Area Labor Federation President (WNYALF) Richard Lipsitz (Pictured Below/WNYLaborToday.com Photos) also spoke and assured the Wendt Workers Labor would continue to stand by them. 

Three Politicals whose districts include Wendt’s Suburban Cheektowaga Plant - New York State Assemblywoman Monica Wallace, New York State Senator Tim Kennedy and U.S. Congressman Brian Higgins (All Pictured Above On Either Side of WNYALF President Lipsitz/WNYLaborToday.com Photo), also spoke and addressed the Wendt situation, as well as pledging their continued help to the Workers. 

In fact, the commitment made by Organized Labor to the Wendt Workers on Labor Day was more than appropriate, considering the theme of the Buffalo Labor Day Parade was UNION STRONG!

Buffalo AFL-CIO Labor Council President John Mudie - who also serves as President of Communications Workers of America (CWA) Local 1122, said: “Labor - ‘by its nature cannot remain neutral, not while employers like’ the Wendt Corporation ‘disparage and exploit’ their Employees.  We are here today ‘in solidarity with all Workers and to say that the rights of Workers must be protected and enforced.’”

Nearly 40 Labor Unions and their Members – in addition to scores of Friends of Labor and Elected Officials - marched in the Labor Day Parade, which started on the corner of Abbott and Stevenson in South Buffalo - near the Irish Center where the news conference was held. 

Those participating marched to Cazenovia Park, where a BlueCross BlueShield of Western New York-sponsored picnic, featuring hot dogs and hamburgers, immediately followed at the end of the parade route. 

BlueCross BlueShield of Western New York employs 1,500 Union-represented Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) Workers in Downtown Buffalo.  OPEIU had a contingent of their Members marching in the parade.

The parade also featured two Co-Grand Marshals: Public Employees Federation (PEF) Members Stephanie McClean Beathley and David Chudy (Pictured Below/WNYLaborToday.com Photo), chosen for their leadership in fighting against New York State to successfully keep the Western New York Children’s Psychiatric Center (WNYCPC) in West Seneca - and stopping a proposed merger into the adult Buffalo Psychiatric Center.  The WNYCPC is specifically designed to provide inpatient mental health services to children and young men and women ages 4-to-17 that come from 19 New York State Counties.  

“When you ‘consider the collaborative efforts between Labor Unions, public officials and community organizations that helped to keep the Western New York Children’s Psychiatric Center in West Seneca, it speaks to the heart, determination, and strength of our local Labor Movement,’” WNYALF President Lipsitz said.

The Wendt Workers have also received public support in the form of resolutions from both the Erie County Legislature and Town of Cheektowaga in their fight to attain a fair first contract with the company.

For More, Read WNYLaborToday.com’s August 26th Labor News Report: UNION STRONG!: PEF’s Dave Chudy & Stephanie McLean-Beathley Introduced As The Co-Grand Marshals Of The 2018 Buffalo Labor Day Parade.

And WNYLaborToday.com’s April 10th Labor News Report Headlined: Exactly What Was It That Ended A Nearly Five-Year-Old, High-Profile Fight With New York State That Now Keeps The WNY Children’s Psychiatric Center In West Seneca?