UFCW members at Stop & Shop have overwhelmingly ratified a strong new contract for the 31,000 workers across New England who walked off their jobs on April 11 to protest the company’s proposed cuts to health care, take-home pay, and other benefits.
The five UFCW Local Unions (328, 371, 1445, 1459, and 919) who worked collaboratively together throughout negotiations with the company, responded to the deal in a joint statement, saying “We are incredibly grateful to our customers and everyone who proudly stood together with us every day for a contract that invests in the communities we serve, and makes Stop & Shop a better place to work and a better place to shop.”
The new agreement preserves health care and retirement benefits, provides wage increases, and maintains time-and-a-half pay on Sunday for current members.
Negotiations with Stop & Shop received national attention as being one of the most important work stoppages in the grocery industry in recent memory and a blow against the erosion of good jobs by needless corporate greed.
“It’s exciting to be back to normal, but it’s also exciting to know how much our community cares about good jobs,” said Nicole, a UFCW member who works at Stop & Shop. “We’re all a lot stronger now.”
UFCW members react to the news
