Workers Decry ‘Sweatshop’ Conditions From BK Hospital Laundry Service

BROOKLYN, NY — Workers called on NYU Langone Hospital in Brooklyn to cut ties with its laundry service provider accused of mistreating workers and creating a "sweatshop-like" work environment.

On Wednesday, elected officials and laundry workers rallied at the Sunset Park hospital called on NYU Langone to discontinue its financial relationship with the FDR Services Corp., which organizers say subjects workers to "unsanitary and deplorable working conditions" without sufficient health insurance.

FDR Services Corp. and NYU Langone Hospital-Brooklyn did not respond to Patch's request for comment.

"For years the harsh working conditions for the employees of FDR have been exposed, but nothing has been done," said Assembly Member Taylor Darling.

FDR Services has faced a number of NLRB investigations, which have at times reached New York State Attorney General Letitia James' desk.

In 2021, James found the company had violated state and federal labor laws by firing employees rather than paying sick leave during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In April 2022, James joined workers at a rally in Hempstead calling for better working conditions at the company workers described as a "sweatshop-like."

Workers also say they have gone over six years without a union contract.

“Show me a union contract and I can tell you an employer’s values,” said New York City Council Member Alexa Avilés. "LDFS members provide crucial supports to neighborhood anchor organizations like NYU Langone and, by extension, countless patients in our district. FDR Services have to come to the table and hammer out a dignified contract. They must do this now.”

Workers also took to Mercy Hospital in Rockville to protest the hospital's relationship to FDR Services.