During National Day of Action, Pressure Builds on Golden Farm

While Windsor Terrace rallies , Kensington residents just down the road are fighting a different grocery-themed battle: ensuring that workers at Golden Farm are treated fairly. 

The grocery store, beloved by local residents for its vast selection of inexpensive international food, after it was discovered that until recently, many of the store's employees were paid less than $5 an hour for 72 hours of work per week. 

On Tuesday evening, local residents joined organizers with the advocacy group New York Communities for Change in a rally outside the store, as part of a larger National Day of Action. 

The protester's chants reverberated up and down Church Avenue, with pedestrians occasionally pausing to gawk and passing cars honking in support. 

Around 20 minutes into the rally, protesters marched into Golden Farm itself, moving up and down the aisles as bewildered shoppers watched. 

Weary-looking cashiers declined to comment on the scene. 

Golden Farm employees are now embroiled in a lawsuit with owner Sonny Kim, who, despite having increased employee pay, has allegedly refused to hand over years of back wages. 

According to NYCC organizer Lucas Sanchez, legal proceedings are creeping along. Store employees in May voted 13 to 12 to join a labor union, the results of which are in the process of being certified by the National Labor Relations Board. 

The problem, though, is that while a settlement has been reached verbally, the NLRB must certify the election results before negotiations can continue. 

"The NLRB notoriously slow, so the only thing that's really going to force Mr. Kim to negotiate is community pressure," said Sanchez. 

Tuesday's rally also comes on the heels of the death of Felix Trinidad, one of the main organizers of the union vote. Trinidad, 34, died of stomach cancer on July 12. 

Eleanor Rodgers, a Kensington resident of five years and one of the central organizers of the newly minted movement, cited Trinidad as a prime example of the movement's necessity. 

"He had no sick days, he had no health coverage. His family relied on his income," she said.

"He worked when he was sick, and he didn't seek medical care until it was too late. Too many workers in this country are in that situation."