By Bill Parry
A new Key Food supermarket is scheduled to open in Jackson Heights as early as February, replacing the Trade Fair that closed down without notice last week.
The store’s new owners, Mohammed Haque and Jaynal Abdin, have reached out to United Food and Commercial Workers Local 338 to discuss hiring some of the 52 workers who lost their jobs Dec. 10.
“I’ve had several conversations with their counsel, but it’s all preliminary — nothing concrete yet,” Local 338 director Jack Caffey said. “That’s true, we’ve talked, but if these workers could find other jobs they should take them,” Haque said, “I’d love to hire locally and I’ve already taken their job applications, but I already employ many workers at my other stores, so we’ll have to see what happens. It’s too soon to say.”
A huge inflatable rat still stands in front of the store, at 75-07 37th Ave., as former workers and labor leaders continue to protest the loss of their jobs so close to the holidays.
Chanting “Grinch” and “Trade Fair Unfair,” the former workers rallied Friday morning, venting their anger at Trade Fair owner Frank Jabber.
“We came to work in the snow on Tuesday and they told us to go home — we’ve got no job,” said Rafael Polanco, a worker in the store’s deli section for the last 14 years.
“They violated the contracts and possibly laws,” organizer Mike Chrisemer said. “It’s ridiculous that he threw the workers out into the cold right before Christmas.”
This is not the first time unions have protested at the store. In March, Trade Fair locked out 50 workers in the meat department.
“I don’t know how Jabber lives with himself,” said City Councilman Daniel Dromm (D-Jackson Heights), who was assaulted at the store in May 2012. Dromm was taking pictures of illegally parked trucks at the store when he was struck by one of the drivers.
“I’ve called Jabber a bad man in the past. Now he’s even worse. He violates the standards of decency on so many levels,” he said.
Jabber could not be reached for comment.
“Trade Fair has a long record of bad business. They’re a bad neighbor,” said Caffey “They knew the store was sold and didn’t tell anyone for a month.”
He added that the union had to fight for millions of dollars in back pay as well as health contributions and pensions.
Meanwhile, Danny Katch of Jackson Heights, has started an online petition warning the new Key Food owners, Haque and Abdin, that they face a neighborhood boycott until the workers from the former Trade Fair have been rehired.
“I don’t think that’s fair at all,” Haque said, “The old owner owns other stores. They should go boycott them.”
Reach reporter Bill Parry by e-mail at bparry@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4538.
