A long battle has taken one step forward to victory:

The Stella D’Oro Biscuit Company factory in the Bronx, where 134 workers on strike since last August have been replaced, must reinstate the workers and pay them wages going back to May, a federal administrative law judge has ruled.

The 134 workers, members of Local 50 of the Bakery, Confectionary, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers, went on strike on Aug. 14, two weeks after their contract had expired.

Most of the workers at the factory, at 184 West 237th Street in Kingsbridge, are paid $18 to $23 an hour, according to the union’s lawyer, Louie Nikolaidis. The union and the company could not reach an agreement over a new contract. Stella D’Oro demanded a $5-an-hour wage reduction for certain workers, along with cuts in pension and heath care benefits, Mr. Nikolaidis said.

   Of course, the company can, and probably will, appeal the case to the full National Labor Relations Board. This is an example why elections matter: the NLRB, now lead by a Democrat, will be more inclined to affirm the decision.

   But, it’s also another sign of the pathetic nature of workplace rights. A union has to fight for the rights of 134 workers who have been out of work almost a full year simply for trying to exercise the basic human right to strike–which means, obviously, time and energy drained from any attempt to organize new members.