With Final Vote, Stop & Shop Workers Ratify New Contract That Raises Wages, Preserves Health Care and Retirement Benefits
BOSTON, MA – Tonight, the final vote by Stop & Shop workers in New England was cast with members of United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 1459 voting overwhelmingly in favor of a new contract. The democratic process for contract negotiations requires members of all five UFCW Local Unions to vote on whether or not to accept the terms of the agreement before contracts are official. UFCW Local 1459 is the last of the five Locals to ratify their contract.
The UFCW released the following statement:
“New England families have sent a powerful message to corporations across the country – that when standing together, workers and customers can protect the good jobs our communities need.
“With growing income inequality, we are united by the shared belief that one job should be enough to provide for a family and that hardworking Americans do not have to struggle alone.
“The relationships that Stop & Shop workers built with customers and the service they provide every day, united our communities. With their hard work, they earned a contract that includes access to affordable health care, better wages, and the ability to plan for their future.”
BACKGROUND
UFCW Locals (328, 371, 919, 1445, and 1459), representing the 31,000 Stop & Shop workers across New England, reached a Tentative Agreement on Sunday April 21 and began a series of ratification votes across Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut starting April 24 and concluding this evening. For members of a union, the final step in the negotiating process is the vote workers take to approve their contract.
The new contracts for New England Stop & Shop workers will achieve the following:
Health & Welfare
- All Stop & Shop members will continue to have access to affordable & quality healthcare that maintains eligibility for spouses
Sunday Premium Pay
- Full and part-time Stop & Shop members will have their Sunday premium pay protected
Sick Time, Personal Days Paid Holidays
- There will be no reduction in sick time, personal days, or paid holidays for any current or future Stop & Shop member
Pensions
- All pensions will be maintained and fully funded
Wages
- All new Stop & Shop members will have a guaranteed pathway to earn above the state’s minimum wage
- All Stop & Shop members moving from part-time to full-time will have a wage increase
Ratification of new contracts for each Local follows the action earlier this month by 31,000 Stop & Shop workers who walked off their jobs on April 11th to protest the company’s proposed cuts to health care, take-home pay, and other benefits.
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