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Hunts Point Market Workers Approve Strike

NEW YORK (WCBS 880) - Workers at the Hunts Point Market are on the verge of a strike.

WCBS 880's Marla Diamond On The Story

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The market that bills itself the largest produce market in the world feeds 22 million people in the Tri-State Area, a number not lost on David Greed, a trucker there for 27 years.

"Look around you now, how much business we doing now, today on the day that they think we might go on strike," he told WCBS 880 reporter Marla Diamond between loading crates of mangoes and bananas on Tuesday. "Everybody's a little nervous right now. Everybody's at each other's throat right now. There's a lot of people who wanna come cross the lines and a lot of people don't want to come cross the lines."

The workers authorized to strike, but agreed to work beyond the contract deadline in a show of good faith, says teamsters local president Daniel Kane.

"[We're] cautiously optimistic. If the employers get to the bargaining table, and come up with some real solutions to our issues, I think we could meet them halfway. But so far, they have not even stepped in our direction," Kane said.

He said his members work hard long hours and deserve a raise.

"The last two years, we didn't take a wage increase when the recession hit. We took benefit cuts. We took pension cuts and the employers are boasting that they sold $3 billion

In a statement, management said if the workers do walk, they're committed to keeping the market open.

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