Trade Fair Butchers on the Chopping Block

Local 342 workers outside of Trade Fair on Ditmars Blvd.

While waiting in the three-block long line to enter Astoria's Bohemian Hall & Beer Garden a few years ago, I struck up a conversation with some fellow patrons who were Queens newcomers.

"So where are you from?"

"Astoria," I replied.

"I mean where are you from originally?"

"Astoria," I said again, much to my new acquaintances' surprise.

This exchange distressed me.  Was my childhood neighborhood completely transforming from a working-class community of immigrants and their families to a haven for yuppie refugees fleeing Manhattan rents?

I'll try not to sound like a hipster who's upset that his favorite underground band has now gone mainstream.    I have to admit that many of the changes have been positive.  There's now a plethora of fantastic new bars and restaurants within stumbling distance of my apartment.

Besides, not all of the influx of new blood has been the Manhattan refugees.  The Greek coffee shops that lined Steinway Street are now hookah bars and kebab shops.  Queens as a whole remains the most ethnically-diverse place on Earth. Despite the many transformations, there are enough landmarks remaining to the landscape that Queens is still recognizable as "home."

One of these places is Trade Fair.  The supermarket chain of 11 stores-- all located in Queens-- caters specifically to working-class immigrant shoppers, offering a huge variety of multi-ethnic groceries at low prices.  As the company website boasts:

No matter what country you are from, no matter what your ethnic background, more than likely we carry foods from your homeland. Brazil, Greece, Italy ten different Hispanic countries, the Middle East and many others. 

Now let us be clear. We dont [sic] carry foods like the ones you had at home. We carry the food you had at home. 

For example, remember that delicious red fish you ate as a child in the old country? Well, we dont [sic] carry red fish similar to it. We carry the same red fish, fresh, frozen and flown to us.
And we also have genuine ethnic foods in our cheese, olive, bread, coffee and beverages departments. We even carry a full line of Halal and organic foods- meat, eggs, produce, dairy, it goes on and on.

Unfortunately, Trade Fair's butchers now find themselves on the chopping block.

As I walked passed the Trade Fair location at Ditmars Boulevard and 37th Street in Astoria on Sunday, I witnessed a scene similar to one that occurred a day before in Jackson Heights.  Workers stood on the corner chanting "Trade Fair, No Fair!," handing out fliers requesting shoppers boycott and included phone numbers for all local news outlets.

Butchers and meat department workers have been locked out of nine Trade Fair supermarket locations throughout Queens.  The lockout was enforced four days ago after workers, who are members of Local 342 of the United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW) union, could not come to an agreement with management over a new contract.  Their previous contract expired in October 2012.

The workers claim they refused to agree to a contract that would slash their wages and benefits.

As of this writing, not a single news outlet has reported on the story.

Trade Fair's official statement was posted outside of all of its stores, alongside "Help Wanted: For Meat Department" signs:

The statement reads:

Notice to our customers:
You may be aware of the disruption in our store created by the meat union URCW local 342.  We are proud of our reputation of providing the best prices in the neighborhood.  we [sic] are also proud that we provide top-notch wages, fringes and working conditions for our meat department.  We are in negotiations with the union and told them we need to keep our costs competitive with other non-union stores in the neighborhood so we can continue to provide you with top-quality meat at fair, competitive prices.  The disruption to our business is their answer to us.  Trade Fair will continue to do what is necessary to keep our our costs competitive so that our prices remain competitive.
We appreciate your faith in us and your continued patronage.

The company's statement that the "disruption to our business is their answer to us" comes across as disingenuous-- almost reminiscent of Con Edison's public statements when they portrayed their lockout of  the electrical workers union (Local 1-2) in the summer of 2012 as a strike.

Like the ConEd workers, the Local 342 members of Trade Fair didn't strike.  They wanted to continue working without a contract until an agreement was made, but were forced out into streets by the lockout.

But Trade Fair is in a bit of a bind. Rising rents and real estate costs have caused a lot of the local butchers, fruit and vegetables vendors and bakeries to close down.  Many of these places were replaced with restaurants, chain stores and organic shops.  A glistening new California Farmers Market replaced the closed-down Blockbuster on 31st Street in Astoria.

The new, higher-income residents of Queens have a wider assortment of shopping choices within walking distance.  They might even own a car and can drive to Costco in Long Island City or to the Best Yet by the Steinway Piano Factory, if they feel so inclined.  They usually don't, nor do they need to, shop at Trade Fair.

This means that Trade Fair must now be at odds with workers who are also the core demographic of their customers.

It's a sad irony.

The views and opinions expressed on this site are my own alone and do not represent the views of my employer.