This week, Hell Gate, Eater, and BK Reader reported that workers at Greenpoint’s She Wolf Bakery are attempting to unionize.
She Wolf Bakery is a local favorite with headquarters in Greenpoint and several different types of breads and pastries sold at farmers markets and small businesses across the city. The bakery was recently recognized as a semi-finalist for the James Beard Foundation’s “Outstanding Bakery” award in 2023.
The workers at She Wolf have banded together to protest working conditions, such as high temperatures at the bakery, as well as other issues like low wages and affordable healthcare, with the help of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union.
The workers even formed an Instagram account called She Wolf Union. The She Wolf Union account’s profile states, “We are the bakers, market staff, wholesale drivers, and porters of She Wolf Bakery, organizing for bread and roses.” (The meaning of the term “bread and roses” refers to the belief that workers should have access not only to basic sustenance, but also to finer things that improve life.)
Several posts on the She Wolf Union account are quotes from workers about the bakery’s conditions, low pay for non-management workers, and other issues that workers feel need to change.
One post highlighted a quote from passionate baker Michael Mangieri, who said:
“As someone who’s worked in the food industry for 20 years, almost half of that time within the collective of business that She Wolf belongs to, I am ready to see a shift in the power balance in favor of workers. I love making food and being a part of a company that engages in deep relationships with local farmers. But’s it’s unacceptable that non-management workers do not receive a living wage or affordable health care, however committed they may be.”
See more of what Mangieri said and how other workers feel on the She Wolf Union account.
Greenpointers reached out to management at She Wolf Bakery for comment, but has not heard back.