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Workers Are Still Protesting Outside of B&H Photo Video for Better Treatment

Chris Gampat
No Comments
05/01/2017
3 Mins read
DSC_1421

Last Updated on 05/04/2017 by Chris Gampat

Photo by @Jeffrae provided by the Laundry Workers Union

For over a year, workers at the B&H photo warehouses have been protesting for better treatment and for the creation of a union. In fact, the issue has become so large that it’s now been a class action lawsuit put into place by the US Government, and backed up by controversies for the better part of 10 years. So it comes as a bit of a shock that workers are still protesting outside of the store the way they were this morning.

According to a press release, over 200 workers from the Brooklyn and Manhattan warehouses have gone on strike for the entire day. It all started with reports of discrimination against Latino workers. But there is an even bigger issue now at hand. The workers are being told that the warehouses they work in are being moved to New Jersey; which makes it very difficult for them to get to work.

As you most likely know because you’re reading this website, B&H Photo is a huge name in the photo industry. Lots of NY based photographers have started going to other retailers as a result of this such as Adorama, FotoCare and K&M–especially since the latter is open on the weekend.

We’ll update this post when B&H Photo issues a comment, which they typically send out to the media.

The press release is below:

Over 200 workers from B&H Photo Video’s Brooklyn and Manhattan warehouses have gone on a day-long strike, in conjunction with “un día sin inmigrantes” strikes happening around the country.

Hundreds of workers and supporters picketed outside B&H Photo’s retail store in Manhattan this morning. A delegation of workers and community members delivered a letter to B&H management, demanding that the company “respect and acknowledge that WE, 300+ B&H warehouse workers and our wives and children, who have been without us, dedicated our lives to building up your operations… for decades.”

B&H Photo workers reportedly worked under extremely dangerous conditions in the warehouses. They decided to fight back, trained with Laundry Workers Center for over a year, and in 2015 voted overwhelmingly to form a union.

This year, B&H announced plans to close its Brooklyn warehouses and move almost 330 jobs 75 miles away to New Jersey, making it nearly impossible to for the predominantly Latino workforce to keep their jobs.

“We are here today to let B&H know that we, the workers, have the power. We will not allow B&H to leave over 300 workers without a job,” said warehouse worker Francisco Pimental.

“We see this an attempt to bust their union and stop the grassroots worker organizing that has resulted in concrete improvements at B&H”, said Rosanna Rodríguez, co-director of Laundry Workers Center.

B&H workers also saw the strike as part of a larger struggle against injustice, as hundreds of thousands of immigrant workers participate in a general strike, or “Day Without An Immigrant”, on May 1.

In an earlier statement, warehouse worker Rigoberto Gallos wrote, “Our communities have come together to stand against the Muslim ban, against ICE, against the violence on communities of color and the working class, that has been going on for a very long time.”

“This is a call to keep fighting for dignity and justice. Today, we are in solidarity with all workers around the world.” said Rosanna Rodríguez, co-director of Laundry Workers Center.

Workers vowed to keep up the struggle. “We are striking for dignity and respect, and we will fight to the end,” said warehouse worker Jorge Lora.

Editor’s Note: One of the Phoblographer’s affiliate partners is B&H Photo. But since this protests started, we’ve have stepped away from promoting any of the company’s deals in our Cheap Photo round ups or intentionally linking to them. Once this has all been diffused, we will make a final decision.

b&h photo b&h photo video lawsuit Photography protests warehouses workers
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Chris Gampat

Chris Gampat is the Editor in Chief, Founder, and Publisher of the Phoblographer. He provides oversight to all of the daily tasks, including editorial, administrative, and advertising work. Chris's editorial work includes not only editing and scheduling articles but also writing them himself. He's the author of various product guides, educational pieces, product reviews, and interviews with photographers. He's fascinated by how photographers create, considering the fact that he's legally blind./ HIGHLIGHTS: Chris used to work in Men's lifestyle and tech. He's a veteran technology writer, editor, and reviewer with more than 15 years experience. He's also a Photographer that has had his share of bylines and viral projects like "Secret Order of the Slice." PAST BYLINES: Gear Patrol, PC Mag, Geek.com, Digital Photo Pro, Resource Magazine, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Finance, IGN, PDN, and others. EXPERIENCE: Chris Gampat began working in tech and art journalism both in 2008. He started at PCMag, Magnum Photos, and Geek.com. He founded the Phoblographer in 2009 after working at places like PDN and Photography Bay. He left his day job as the Social Media Content Developer at B&H Photo in the early 2010s. Since then, he's evolved as a publisher using AI ethically, coming up with ethical ways to bring in affiliate income, and preaching the word of diversity in the photo industry. His background and work has spread to non-profits like American Photographic Arts where he's done work to get photographers various benefits. His skills are in SEO, app development, content planning, ethics management, photography, Wordpress, and other things. EDUCATION: Chris graduated Magna Cum Laude from Adelphi University with a degree in Communications in Journalism in 2009. Since then, he's learned and adapted to various things in the fields of social media, SEO, app development, e-commerce development, HTML, etc. FAVORITE SUBJECT TO PHOTOGRAPH: Chris enjoys creating conceptual work that makes people stare at his photos. But he doesn't get to do much of this because of the high demand of photography content. / BEST PHOTOGRAPHY TIP: Don't do it in post-production when you can do it in-camera.
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