A weeklong strike at the Hunts Point Produce Market in the Bronx ended on Jan. 23 with workers winning their largest pay raise in decades and more money for health coverage.

Their new three-year contract, negotiated by their union, Teamsters Local 202, provides a minimum raise of 70 cents per hour for the first year. Over the course of the three-year contract, workers will have seen a total increase of $1.85 per hour. Management also will contribute an additional 40 cents per hour to employee health care.

More than 1,400 workers at the market, a local supply chain hub that provides about 60% of New York City’s produce, voted to strike on Jan. 17 over wages. It was the first strike since 1986.

Their new agreement will push most workers’ earnings over $20 per hour.

“They’ll be able to feed their families,” said Teamsters Local 202 President Daniel J. Kane Jr. The Hunts Point employees have worked through the pandemic, which has caused the death of six Hunts Point workers.

The strike garnered national attention when Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez joined the picket line on the day of President Joe Biden’s inauguration, handing out coffee and hand warmers to the workers.

-The City, Jan. 23, CBS New York, Jan. 23