Who Says You Can't Win Big in a Bad Economy?

They work for some of the deepest pockets in the global economy--Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan/Chase and other Wall Street firms. But when the stock market crashed, the commercial movers who do the heavy lifting on Wall Street got hit with pay cuts and lost their medical benefits.

Now activists from NY-NJ Teamsters for a Democratic Union have led a winning campaign to save workers' healthcare and win wage increases for some of the lowest-paid and hardest- working New Yorkers on Wall Street.

They did it by restoring grassroots activism to their union.  But this victory didn't come overnight. 

With the support of the North Star Fund, NY-NJ Teamsters for a Democratic Union (TDU) conducted a multi-year activism and leadership development program--including trainings on the nuts and bolts of organizing and waging effective campaigns.

Last year, TDU leaders organized a grassroots campaign to elect reformers to lead their union, Teamsters Local 814. And they won.

From day one, the reformers set out to put the 'movement' back in the labor movement.

"We mobilized. We held rallies. We were more united than ever before--and our bosses knew it," said Walter Taylor, a TDU leader.

When it came time to negotiate over the restoration of workers' wages and heatlhcare, the bosses demanded even more cuts--and said "Take it or leave it."  The workers decided to leave it. They packed up their things, got up from the bargaining table and prepared to set up picket signs on Wall Street.

The employers blinked--and re-opened negotiations.  By 4 a.m., the workers had won an agreement that restores all of the health benefits that had been taken away.  It also delivers major wage increases of $1 to $4.55 an hour. 

The highest wage increases will go to the lowest-paid workers--who are disproportionately workers of color. 

"This victory shows that workers can win justice even on Wall Street if we mobilize and believe in ourselves," Taylor said "The North Star Fund's support made it possible for us to take our destiny in our own hands. And we did it."