WHEY TO GO!

City cheese workers vote to join Teamsters union

THE INFLATABLE union rat used by labor groups to shame bad employers will get no cheese at Beecher’s.

Workers at the artisanal shop in the Flatiron District voted last week to join Teamsters Local 553 — joining some 4,000 other Teamster members in an array of industries from trucking to dairy production.

The Seattle-based cheese company employs 24 people in its shop at Broadway and 20th St.

The election was overseen by the National Labor Relations Board and included cheesemakers and equipment maintenance employees.

Local 553 said the next step will be to negotiate a union contract with Beecher’s, and hope to raise wages and improve health coverage.

“We love the work we do, but need this to be a good job too,” Riley Peters, a Beecher’s worker, said after the union vote.

“When you gain experience and take on new responsibilities, your wage should reflect that. That is one of the things we want to address in our union contract. Continues on page 16

Work at the Beecher’s cheese plant in Manhattan is physically demanding (right) and shifts often last 10 hours or more.