Update: ABC has reported the strike has been averted at the market after a tentative deal was reached. 

A wholesale fresh produce market that feeds 9% of the U.S. population could see disruptions as early as tomorrow after members of Teamsters Local 202 at Hunts Point Produce Market voted unanimously on Saturday to reject management’s contract offer and authorize a strike.

Warehouse workers, drivers, and other union members were against the contract that ends today, indicating they could undertake the first strike at the market in three decades. Negotiations have been going on since November.

"These are the working families that make up the Bronx, and they need more than a 30 cent raise,” said Teamsters Local 202 president Dan Kane.

“The companies are thriving and the owners are doing well for themselves. The owners can do right by their employees and prevent a strike by giving these workers a fair contract," he said.

“Everyone’s rent is going up. We have bills to pay and families to support,” said Francisco Flores, a father of three who has worked at the market for 24 years. “We can’t afford to stay in New York on the low wage management is offering.”

The market is on city-owned property, and the City is investing US$150 million to support its facilities.

“We voted unanimously to authorize a strike and we are serious,” said Reynaldo Ortiz, a warehouse worker with 20 years of service at Hunts Point Produce Market. “We are willing to strike until we get a fair contract, and I hope that New Yorkers stand behind us.”

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