WORKERS CHANTING: "we have the power! No $8.30 an hour!"
The resonant chants of a threatened workforce cascaded across Tiedeman Road in both English AND Spanish, as the Hugo Boss manufacturing plant virtually emptied for the rally. Workers were hoping the show of unity would carry back to the clothing maker's headquarters in Germany.
LEADER CHANTS IN SPANISH: PEOPLE RESPOND
Leaders of the Workers United union say Hugo Boss plans to close the Brooklyn production plant - eliminating more than 320 jobs. The company has been making men's suits under various owners - for 165 years.
Pat Sifchek has been working in the payroll department here the last 28 of those years, and is afraid of the impact of a shutdown.
PAT SIFCHEK: "The city of Brooklyn will suffer. We'll all suffer, there's 400 people here. We have a warehouse in Savannah too, with a couple of hundred people."
Hugo Boss sold more than two-point-four billion dollars of product in 2008, and sales through September are up 6%.
Brooklyn workers believe their efforts are responsible for some of the profits, but they feel unrecognized. Coat shop worker Christine Vasquez is the acting union local President.
CHRISTINE VASQUEZ :"It's a shame Hugo Boss can stand and tell us that all the years we've dedicated to them, we're worth $8.30 an hour? It's like ...we're worthless."
But a statement from a Hugo Boss official - received just before this story's deadline - the company said negotiations to keep the plant open have resumed. It said the company is committed to reaching a fair and equitable contract with employees and will continue to work towards that in an appropriate manner.
Rick Jackson, 90.3.
