She Wolf Bakery Is Unionizing | Eater NY

"A bread bakery selling at GrowNYC greenmarkets and to a handful of top restaurants, She Wolf was started by Brooklyn restaurateur Andrew Tarlow and was born out of the wood-fired oven at Roman’s in 2009. Recently named a James Beard Awards semifinalist for Outstanding Bakery, the bakery operates from a Greenpoint warehouse where a staff of 23 makes mostly naturally fermented breads from a mix of local grains for area greenmarkets, Tarlow’s restaurants, and roughly 20–40 wholesale clients. Workers voted on January 18 by a “supermajority” to file for a union election with the NLRB, seeking safer working conditions — including better temperature control to prevent baking-area spikes above 100 degrees in summer — and access to affordable healthcare, as current wages of about $17 to $26.50 an hour leave some workers unable to afford care. Baker Thomasin Alter, who has worked at She Wolf since 2017, said, “We are voting to unionize because we care about the bakery,” that she enjoys the work and wants to do it long-term, and noted that while management granted her a pay raise after she advocated in November, it “came with all these other responsibilities,” whereas the union would protect “those who don’t.” The union has asked She Wolf to voluntarily recognize the union so negotiations can start; the Marlow Collective said it “recognize[s] and respect[s] our employees’ fundamental right to organize” and anticipates negotiating in good faith if that is the workers’ decision. Bakers, market staff, drivers, and porters would be represented, and while there are no current plans to unionize Tarlow’s other businesses, organizers acknowledged the effort could set a precedent amid a wave of recent restaurant union activity." - Melissa McCart