FDR Services Corp., based in Hempstead, Long Island, is among the largest clean linens and laundry providers for New York City hospitals and nursing homes. Yet since 2017, its mostly immigrant workforce has been forced to work under unsafe and unsanitary working conditions without a new union contract.
However, last week, on Oct. 10, New York City Council Member Carmen De La Rosa introduced a resolution targeting FDR Services Corp., noting in particular how the company has failed to adhere to standards for wages and benefits.
The resolution calls on New York City healthcare institutions to “contract with industrial laundry companies that respect workers’ legal rights and adhere to area standards for wages and benefits.”
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“I urge FDR Services Corp. to negotiate a fair new union contract immediately with their workers,” said De La Rosa in a statement. “If FDR Services Corp. fails to clean up its act, city hospitals and nursing homes should stop giving valuable healthcare dollars to this lawbreaking company.”
For nearly seven years, workers at FDR have been organizing with their union, the Laundry, Distribution and Food Service Joint Board (LDFS Union), Workers United/SEIU, to force FDR management to negotiate with them in good faith for a new contract.
Throughout the pandemic, employees claimed that they worked under unsafe worker conditions, being forced to work even when showing symptoms of COVID-19. In 2020, a Documented investigation found that several workers who fell ill with COVID and could not return to work were abruptly fired. Many of those workers were also actively involved in the union effort.
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Following our investigation, on September 22, 2021, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced an agreement with FDR management to pay $400,000 to the fired workers. James found that FDR violated several state and federal laws when it fired the workers.
But before the pandemic, conditions at the FDR facility were already potentially life-threatening.
In August 2019, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) ordered FDR to pay $17,390 in fines after inspectors uncovered at least five serious safety violations that could result in death or serious harm. OSHA’s investigation was initiated after workers who regularly handled contaminated linen complained to the agency that the company failed to provide them with hepatitis B vaccinations.
Four years later, in 2023, OSHA again issued FDR with five health and safety violations, with two being labeled as serious. The federal agency found that FDR did not provide its employees with the proper PPE training, nor did they provide employees who were potentially exposed to bloodborne pathogens and hepatitis B with the proper safety training.
Despite the slew of OSHA violations and the settlement reached with Attorney General James, workers at FDR say they are continuing to be stonewalled by the company when it comes to negotiating a new contract.
“All of us employed at FDR Services Corp. should receive a fair union new contract,” said an employee of FDR Services Corp., who requested anonymity. “For too long, we have worked without a union contract while cleaning and delivering the gowns, bed sheets, and other linens that hospitals and nursing homes need.”
Although a resolution is not legislation and holds no legal bearings, acting only as a statement of support, the union hopes that the resolution could bring much-needed attention to their struggle and ultimately push FDR to the negotiation table.
“These dedicated individuals continue to ensure that hospitals and nursing homes across New York City and Long Island have clean linens for patients, nurses, and doctors every day,” said Megan Chambers and Alberto Arroyo, co-managers of the LDFS Union, Workers United/SEIU, in a joint statement to Documented. “These essential workers deserve to be treated fairly and with respect.”
