A brief history of the Bagel Bakers Union Local 338 of New York —-

The Bagel Bakers Union of NYC began in the early 1900’s to help the many, mainly Jewish bagel bakers, who were were previously living in squalor baking bagels to hopefully achieve the pipe dream of a middle class status. The Union was a huge success and bagel bakers finally had the same opportunity for economic success as steelworkers, autoworkers, carpenters etc. Then, in the 1960’s, a Canadian, named Dan Thompson, invented the automated bagel machine - which allowed bagel shops to fire union workers and also increase production by 400% with the extruding bagel machines. The difference was simply that the taste, texture and crust of the bagels changed completely. The bagels which were heretofore compared to “an unsweetened donut with rigor mortis” became softer, fluffier rolls that held sandwich meats and other ingredients more elegantly than the old school bagel. Traditionally, bagels were a portable, filling meal unto themselves that would be adorned with maybe butter or spreads (Schmears) or thinly sliced smoked/cured fish or meats at the most. Handmade bagels still exist in precious few NYC bagel shops today, but most are now machine made. Kaz Bagels are chewier and crispier than machine made bagels with a more complex flavor profile based on long cold-proofing (more than 24 hours) and proper hand-pressing, which chases the bubbles from the dough and makes for a denser, more traditional chewy crumb.

Fun fact - Thompson (the bagel machine inventor) also invented the folding ping pong table. You have to love the Canadians!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bagel_Bakers_Local_338

https://longreads.com/2020/01/09/how-bagel-makers-union-local-338-beat-nycs-kosher-nostra/