Business & Tech
All Five UFCW Locals Deliver Notice To Terminate Contracts With Stop & Shop
Supermarket chain has said it could use temporary replacement workers to keep stores open.
All five New England locals of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union negotiating with Stop & Shop have given their 24 hour notices to terminate their contracts with the supermarket chain.
On Wednesday, Local 371 gave its termination notice to Stop & Shop. The president of the local, Brian A. Petronella, sent a notice to his members on Thursday saying that as of noon the other locals had done the same.
Petronella is also international vice president of UFCW.
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The UFCW's contract with Stop & Shop expired Feb. 20.
"We are continuing to negotiate," said Petronella, "and we are not on strike at 3 p.m. as some rumors have stated."
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On its web page, Local 371, which is based in Westport, says Stop & Shop is "playing hardball with its 15,000 grocery workers in Connecticut." It says the company is citing the recession as a reason to slash benefits, "but in reality, profits are as healthy as ever."
Besides Local 371, which has members in Connecticut and Vermont, the other UFCW locals involved in the negotiations are 328, with members in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, 1445, with members in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, 919, with members in Connecticut, and 1459, with members in Massachusetts.
Westport Patch will provide an update on the negotiations later today.
