Above Photo: Twitter/@sjforman138
BOSTON — Thousands of Stop & Shop union workers walked off the job and are on strike Thursday amid an ongoing contract dispute.
WCVB crews at stores report the doors were locked. Several viewers tell WCVB they were “kicked out” or told to check out immediately.
Five locals of the United Food & Commercial Workers Union representing 31,000 Stop & Shop workers in New England have been negotiating a new contract with Stop & Shop representatives since Feb. 14, the UFCW said.
The workers’ last contract with the company expired on Feb. 23. Workers have rallied against the company as its proposed cuts to workers’ take home pay and benefits will significantly hamper their ability to be fairly compensated, Wicked Local reported.
The workers walked out at 1 p.m.
“Given that negotiations with assistance of the federal mediators are continuing, we are disappointed that the UFCW chose to order a work stoppage in an attempt to disrupt service at our stores,” Stop & Shop spokeswoman Jennifer Brogan said in a statement.
Brogan added there are “contingency plans in place to minimize disruption” for shoppers.
Within a few hours of the walk-out, corporate and temporary workers were brought in to help keep the stores operating. Signs were posted outside telling shoppers the store was open, but with limited services.
A spokesperson for the company said Massachusetts stores would be operating on modified hours, with stores opening at 8 a.m. and remaining open until 8 p.m.
The company said they were still coordinating Peapod deliveries and said customers should expect delays.
A number of customers said Thursday night their Peapod orders had suddenly been cancelled.
The unions say the company is demanding “unreasonable” wage and benefit cuts.
“Instead of a contract that recognizes the value and hard work that our members provide every day, Stop & Shop has only proposed drastic and unreasonable cuts to health care benefits and take home pay, while replacing real customer service with more serve-yourself checkout machines,” the union statement said.
The unions said that Ahold Delhaize had more than $2 billion in profits last year and got a U.S. tax cut of $225 million in 2017.
On its website, Stop & Shop said it is the “only large fully-unionized food retailer left in New England.”
The strike includes workers at Stop & Shop’s 134 stores in Massachusetts, 92 locations in Connecticut and 27 Rhode Island stores.
Stop & Shop workers on strike, doors are locked at a Somerville store. #wcvb #boston pic.twitter.com/MjxZxOb6mX
— Stanley Forman (@sjforman138) April 11, 2019