Warehouse Workers Power NYC’s Fashion Industry. Now, They’re Unionizing

Minutes from the high-end boutiques of SoHo in Manhattan sits Bergen Logistics’ fulfillment facility in North Bergen, New Jersey, where workers sort, package, and ship hundreds of packages a day for luxury fashion brands including Acne Studios, Kenzo, and Phillip Lim.

The workers themselves can’t realistically afford the ornate gowns and crisp suits they ship to online shoppers. Some work two jobs just to stay afloat, and rush to keep up with unit-per-hour expectations.

Now they’re fighting for union recognition and the reinstatement of a colleague the union alleges was fired for her organizing. The workers point to the gap between word and action for high-profile brands that publicly claim to care about working conditions.

HEAT AND SPEED-UP

Safety is a key concern, especially when heat waves hit. “Especially last year, the hot season was really intense,” said Yeurimar Acosta, who works in the stock department. “On the fourth floor, with the amount of plastic there is—because the garments are wrapped in it—generates more heat. Last year, some of my co-workers nearly fainted,” she said. The company has added fans, she said, “but it’s not enough for how big the space is.”

Insufficient staffing leads to accidents. Acosta was injured when a box slipped and landed on her hand. “I was so frustrated,” she said, “because I think I’d asked for support like three times, because of the heavy workload.”

Sometimes workers are expected to take on big projects alone, she adds, forcing them to rush and work less safely than they would otherwise. “In that moment, you’re lifting a heavy box. If you have someone with you, you can do it together. It’s more complicated alone.”

Rolling ladders, used to pick garments from high shelves, are widely detested. The ladders have to be maneuvered under the conveyor belt, a difficult and time-consuming process. “If I’m on line 22 and want to go [right across] to 23, it’s a problem,” said Eva López, who works in the stock department. “You have to grab them—because they’re really heavy—lay them down, and drag them,” she said.

“They’re the worst part of the job. They aren’t safe,” Acosta said. Dealing with the ladders also impacts their units-per-hour score: “You’re spending minutes doing that, it’s not a quick process. It adds to the challenge.”

Workers feel that their contributions to the company go unnoticed. “In my 13 years, I’ve [earned] just 12 paid days [off]—of which five are sick days,” said López. This has made traveling to see ailing family members difficult—especially as the company has cut back on unpaid time off.

The exorbitant prices of the products they ship add insult: “I couldn’t buy anything [from here],” López said. “If I liked something for $1,200, there goes my salary.”

Bergen Logistics did not respond to a request for comment.

‘THEY BRAINWASHED PEOPLE’

Bergen Logistics’ parent company Elanders has an agreement with UNI Global Union (which represents some of its employees in Europe) to “remain positive in the face of organizing activities and follow the most expeditious process in the event that a UNI affiliate requests recognition.”

So, when a majority of workers at the warehouse signed union cards last November, many expected voluntary recognition of the union would follow. Instead, the company brought in anti-union consultants.

“They said they were consultants to tell us what the union is about, what the benefits and pros are,” López said. “‘But obviously they’re with the company. They practically brainwashed people.”

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The company also began handing out gifts, Acosta said, something they’d never done before: earrings, pillows, as well as raffling off TVs to entice workers to take Sunday shifts.

“It was shameless,” she said. “I knew it was all part of their strategy so we would forget about the fight we’d started. It was like they wanted to buy off part of our conscience.”

“When we started this fight, we had, I think, over 150 signed cards,” said Acosta, out of an eligible workforce of 188. But the company’s campaign flipped a lot of people.

Executives came down to the warehouse floor to ask for a second chance, which proved effective: “They said they’d made mistakes, and said the decision was in our hands, but asked that we give them an opportunity to fix those mistakes.”

The vote count in January was a nail-biter: 83 workers voted for the union and 80 voted against, with an additional 17 challenged ballots, including one from the fired worker.

The outcome is still unknown. The company is seeking an National Labor Relations Board investigation into four of the ballots, which the union said appears to be a delay tactic.

EUROPEAN UNIONISTS REBUFFED

In early April, warehouse workers and supporters visited the Manhattan storefronts of some of the brands they handle in an effort to pressure the company to recognize the union. Thirty workers and supporters, including Starbucks Workers United members, trudged through the rain to deliver an in-person appeal to the companies. They’re calling on the brands—especially Acne Studios and Ganni, which have made declarations in favor of workers rights—to pressure Bergen Logistics to recognize the union and bargain in good faith. (Acne Studios and Ganni did not respond to a request for comment.)

Days later, a delegation of union leaders representing Elanders workers in Europe attempted to enter the New Jersey warehouse but were denied.

They were there to assess whether the company was in violation of the international labor standards that Elanders had pledged to uphold, respecting rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining.

Under the agreement, UNI affiliates are guaranteed access to Elanders workplaces to speak with workers about their rights to unionize, the union said in a statement.

‘THEY COULDN’T LAST A DAY’

Workers and management “are a world apart, because we’re the people who work on the floor,” said Acosta.

She has decided that she’s done waiting for management to take workers’ concerns seriously—she now sees the union as the best way to improve conditions on the ground. When workers have had problems in the past, “we’ve reported it, made complaints, but… time goes on, and nothing happens,” she said. “I’ve spent almost six years seeing the same thing. It’s time to do things differently.”

“It makes me angry that they don’t value us,” López said. “You’re the one who’s walking. You’re the one who’s sweating. You’re the one who has to maneuver to get clothing down.

“They don’t realize that, because they’re sitting up there. But if we told them, ‘Come pick here, for an hour—because I know they couldn’t last a day, [our work might be respected.]”