Local 1500 Heads to Washington for Support w/ Pathmark Crisis

Earlier this May, UFCW Local 1500 Secretary-Treasurer Anthony Speelman, Political Director John Woods and Assistant to the President Patrick Purcell Jr. traveled to Washington D.C. to enlist the help of the New York area Congressional delegation in our fight to save Pathmark.

Local 1500 representatives briefed several members of Congress as well as our two U.S. Senators about the Pathmark crisis. The Union officials asked for specific help depending on the outcome of the ongoing negotiations. “Every single person we spoke to pledged their support and agreed that we must all work to come to a fair agreement and not let A&P/Pathmark continue to run this once proud company into the ground any further. Our membership should know that our elected officials have our backs and are prepared to roll up their sleeves and stand with us as this crisis grows more serious every day,” Secretary-Treasurer Tony Speelman explained.

Pledging support were:

U.S. Representative for New York's 7th District, Democrat Joseph Crowley

U.S. Senator,  New York, Democrat Chuck Schumer

U.S. Representative for New York's 11th District, Democrat Yvette Clarke

U.S. Representative for New York's 9th District, Democrat Anthony Weiner

U.S. Representative for New York's 4th District, Democrat Carolyn McCarthy

U.S. Senator Kristen Gillibrand & UFCW Local 1500 President Bruce Both

Though not pictured from the recent trip, United States Senator, Kristen Gillibrand, a longtime friend of UFCW Local 1500 also pledged her support.

Yucaipa and A&P, Queens gets a Fairway, Friday Morning One Liners...

Image by jorgeq via Flickr

Good Morning on a Friday!

Yucaipa & A&P

A&P welcomes Yucaipa investments after a 'Challenging Q1'.

Supermarket News covered the story also: Investors approved of the deal, sending A&P stock up by more than 14% Thursday. The addition of Yucaipa also drew praise from Local 1500 of the United Food and Commercial Workers, which lauded Yucaipa’s history with labor unions, including Local 1500’s previous experience with Pathmark under Burkle

Queens gets a Fairway
Queens Chronicle Fairway will open a store in Douglaston, Queens within 4 months.

Long Island Press: Another Fairway for Queens and Long Island.

Another unjust firing.
In February Kadar Yusuf Haji Ali, a worker at the Jennie-O Turkey Store in Faribault, sat down for a cup of coffee with an organizer from United Food and Commercial Workers Local 789. He wanted to discuss the possibility of unionizing the plant. Roughly a week later the Somali immigrant was fired from the slaughterhouse. Read more here.

Wal-Mart Stores, Bentonville, Ark., has agreed to pay up to $35 million to settle a class-action lawsuit here alleging the retailer forced workers to skip breaks and work off the clock, the Associated Press reported.

Trader Joe's will open another store in Jersey by the end of August.


Politics
Another article on NY Labor Leaders and David Patterson.

McCarthy: Back surgery deterred me from Senate race
Rep. Carolyn McCarthy said Thursday she's planning to undergo back surgery next week - and that the lengthy recovery period was the "real reason" she decided not to run for the U.S. Senate. Last month, McCarthy, 65, the Democrat from Mineola, said she wouldn't challenge Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand in next year's party primary for "personal reasons." Thursday, she said her impending back surgery, which will require her to wear a brace for six to eight months, drove her decision to bow out of consideration for the Senate. Her aching back has forced her in recent weeks to rely on a cane.

44 Charged by U.S. in New Jersey Corruption Sweep
A two-year corruption and international money-laundering investigation stretching from the Jersey Shore to Brooklyn to Israel and Switzerland culminated in charges against 44 people on Thursday, including three New Jersey mayors, two state assemblymen and five rabbis, the authorities said. The case began with bank fraud charges against a member of an insular Syrian Jewish enclave centered in a seaside town. But when that man became a federal informant and posed as a crooked real estate developer offering cash bribes to obtain government approvals, it mushroomed into a political scandal that could rival any of the most explosive and sleazy episodes in New Jersey's recent past.

Scan It! updates, Price Chopper sues a competitor and builds a Green store, Friday Morning One Liners...

What's up with the King Kullen in South Hampton development?

Here's another piece and video on 'ScanIt' the new supermarket technology that allows customers to scan their products.

Price Chopper is suing Giant Food Markets for $20 million for allegedly stealing trade secrets... According to a complaint filed in New York State Supreme Court here, a surveillance tape caught a former salesman for the beverage distribution company AL George LLC entering an "employees only" bottle supply closet at a Price Chopper in Binghamton, N.Y., and stealing ad fliers that were planned for distribution the following week. He then passed them on to his immediate superior in the store's parking lot, who in turn gave the fliers to August O. Kutchinski, director of operations for Giant Markets of Binghamton, the lawsuit alleges.

Price Chopper is also debuting a prototype "Green Supermarket"

Supermarket News picked up the bagger story here.

Wegmans Food Markets is encouraging shoppers to support "One Stop Shop N.J.," a proposal to let more supermarkets sell beer and wine.

Aldi is opening a new Georgia warehouse.

Sales were down at Costco, Target, and BJ's in May.

Read more about the Food Safety Enchancement act of 2009

Keep Wal-Mart out of NYC.

More on the Colorado UFCW Local's fight with their Governor. Governor Ritter, also plans on vetoing another union bill, one that would enable fire-fighters to unionize.

Politics

Carolyn McCarthy said she won’t run against Kirsten Gillibrand, citing personal reasons

Steve Israel is 'open' to backing Gillibrand's opponent.

Andrew Cuomo's editorial in Newsday.

The NY Assembly votes to legalize mixed martial arts (MMA) in NY.