Tues. After Noon OneLiners: Fresh Direct needs a new HQ, Retail Workers still struggling

Cover of Martin Luther King, Jr.

“It's downright disturbing, as this industry grows and plays a greater role in our economy, we're seeing stagnant wages and working conditions.” 

Carrie Gleason, director of the Retail Action Project, who will issue a study on how Retailers sell workers short in today's Crain's NY Business.

#A&P
A&P unveiled a new healthy food format, focusing on foods for diabetics and health conscious shoppers.

Bayonne A&P will close, impacting 77 employees.  More @ the CT Courier Post.

Sprinklers exploded at the former Pathmark on Nostrand Avenue.

LoHud: Pathmark Mt.Vernon to close.



#Elsewhere, Industry
Aldi in Geneseo is closing in August.

In Jersey, consultants are wondering if a new ShopRite in Toms River will kill a Foodtown in the same town.


Fresh Direct has outgrown their Queens warehouse and is searching for a new site that could fit an additional 1,000 employees.  Well, New Jersey & the South Bronx are both doing their best to seduce the retailer to make their home.   Check out the article at the Daily News:

Only 47% of Fresh Direct employees make more than $25,000 a year, claimed Bettina Damiani of Good Jobs New York, a benefits watchdog group.

Living wage critics warned last week the bill could scare away Fresh Direct. But a City Council spokeswoman said Friday the legislation would not apply to the company if it moved to the Bronx.

Damiani accused Fresh Direct of using its New Jersey offer to leverage more New York aid. It has received millions of dollars in tax breaks in Queens, she said.

“It is incredibly unfair for Fresh Direct to hold city taxpayers over a barrel,” she said. “Fresh Direct is a perfect example of what’s wrong with the economic war between New York and New Jersey.”

Crain's writes about retail workers in NYC struggling to make ends meet.

The report, titled "Discounted Jobs: How Retailers Sell Workers Short," surveyed 436 workers in jobs across the five boroughs, making it one of the most comprehensive studies to date on the industry's workforce in New York. Nearly one-third of those surveyed supported at least one additional family member on their wages; their median income was $9.50 an hour. More than half made less than $10 an hour, and one in five earned less than $8 an hour.

Read more: @ Crain's NY Business

Here is RWDSU President Stuart Appelbaum's statement on the NYC Living Wage agreement.  The New York Times sums up the tricky compromise very well.

The UFCW Blog wrote a nice piece, Honoring the Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.


Smithfield Packing and the UFCW are donating 30,000 pounds of protein to a food bank in Arizona.

Supermarket News says it will take 23 years for Whole Foods to reach their goal of 1,000 stores.  They're telling retailers to brace themselves for record expansion pace.

Trader Joe's will be opening in Rochester and Albany, not Syracuse.

Motley Fool wonders if Target's new business strategy will over complicate the stores.

Controversial right-to-work legislation could advance this week in the Indiana legislature, and Kentucky labor unions and pro-business interests are closely monitoring its progress.


UFCW Local 400 President Tom McNutt issued a statement Jan. 13 in response to Delhaize America’s decision to close 126 Bloom, Food Lion and Bottom Dollar stores across the country.

Giant Food Stores' pending acquisition of Genuardis has investors thinking a re-branding for the stores could have great potential.

Tuesday Morning One-Liners:

Peapod is challenging Fresh Direct by beginning to deliver to Manhattan.  Read the Peapod Press Release.  More @ Supermarket News.  @PGrocer.

Al Norman of Sprawl Busters looks closely at WalmartNYC's "Polls".

A Mid-Western American, now living in South Africa, who has seen the effects Walmart has on small towns and Mom & Pops, has written a Letter to the Editor in South Africa, explaining how the mega-retailer will destroy businesses.

UFCW 880 is on strike at northern Ohio Rite-Aid stores. Read more @Cleveland.com.

#StandupAmerica

Governor John Kasich (Ohio), is demanding a news "black out", banning all reporters from, photography and video when he announces his State budget today.

Wednesday News After Noon: Living Wage in NYC? Cuomo's Running Mate, More

Wal-Mart Seeking More Control of its Supply Chain
The company is contacting manufacturers and seeking to provide its own transportation in instances where Wal-Mart can do the same job for less. Wal-Mart asked for 6 percent reduction in the price it pays for products based on its own cost calculation, while suppliers estimated the actual expense was equal to about 3 percent.


Wal-Mart isn't what Liberty Road Needs (MD):
"People need to connect to their neighborhoods."


Trader Joe's and Wal-Mart Sprouts Recalled for Salmonella
Sprouts sold at Trader Joe's and Walmart have been recalled after an outbreak of salmonella sickened more than 20 people in 10 states.


Labor History Month All Year Round
The month may be nearly over but union leaders, students, teachers and activists are taking advantage of new resources to keep telling our story and building our future beyond May, which is officially Labor History Month.


MOTT'S Workers Peel Away Contract to the Core and Find Nothing but a Rotten Apple... Declare a Strike
Over 300 full time manufacturing workers at the Mott's plant in Williamson,NY went out on strike because of painful wage cuts while the company enjoyed a record year of $555 million in profits.


More Arrested in Immigration Law Protest
Nearly 40 people were arrested Monday during an act of civil disobedience in Lower Manhattan meant to rally against Arizona's immigration law.


Boston.com is covering the Shaw's march...

Worcester Hospital Workers Authorize Strike

About 1,300 housekeepers and lab workers at a number of UMass Memorial Care facilities have rejected the company's latest two-year contract proposal and authorized a strike.

Tavern on the Green Staff Hold Out Hope for Jobs
Mayor Bloomberg has said the city will solicit new proposals for a restaurant in coming months, using the space as a visitor center in the interim. Many of Tavern's former employees wonder whether that future includes them


Gourmet Garage Opens on Upper Park Avenue
Gourmet Garage, New York Citys own specialty food marketplace, will be opening its fifth store in Manhattan at 1245 Park Ave between 96th and 97th Streets in February. 


FreshDirect Expands its Office Food and Beverage Delivery Service
FreshDirect At The Office, the office food and beverage delivery service division of the leading online grocer FreshDirect, is now delivering to business customers in Westchester and Fairfield Counties.

ShopRite plans 8th Maryland store.


Walmart  is reportedly testing a virtual makeup mirror in a 90-day trial at 10 stores in various locations around the country, according to StoreFrontBacktalk, a technology blog. [SN]

UFCW Local 418 President was beaten by the police.

Organizing victory for UFCW Local 5, read more at MyUFCW.

And another story from MyUFCW, Small business owners believe strong unions help business.

AFL-CIO Blog: Jobs Bill, 1 Million Jobs at Stake...Tell Congress to Pass it

Politics


Pushing a Living Wage Bill in NYC
The Fair Wages for New Yorkers Act is expected to go before the New York City Council today.

More @ Globe St.

New York Times: Wage Proposal May Prompt Fight at City Hall.


Local One Endorse Kathleen Rice for Attorney General 
Nassau District Attorney Recognized for Fighting Labor and Safety Violations by Wal-Mart and Other Employers

Poll Puts Cuomo Far Ahead of GOP Opponents
Attorney General Andrew Cuomo Goes to his party's nominating convention this week with a commanding lead over his Republican opponents in the race for governor, a new poll shows. 


Cuomo's First Union Endorsement, UFCW Local 1500.


Cuomo has selected an Lt.Governor candidate.

Tesco expansion, A&P Stock falls, Willets Point & More One Liners...

Image via Wikipedia

Tesco is slowing its U.S. expansion plans for Neighborhood Market, Simon Uwins, the company’s chief marketing officer, told SN yesterday.
Read more of this story

Stock in A&P here, on a free-fall since the summer, tumbled by more than 26% on Wednesday to close at its lowest levels in more than five years.
Read more of this story

Internet grocer FreshDirect here on Wednesday said it launched “Thanksgiving Central,” an online destination where shoppers can purchase all of the components of a Thanksgiving dinner with a single click, or a prepared heat-and-serve Thanksgiving meal at prices as low as $20 per person.
Read more of this story

Long Island is barely avoiding a recession.

Steve Levy is getting criticism for not being assertive in the recent murder of a 16 year old.

Two of the leading opponents of the Willets Point redevelopment project in Queens came out in favor of the plan on Wednesday, after they reached a critical deal with the city over the number of homes for low-income families that will be built at the site.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. reported a 10 percent increase in third-quarter profit Thursday but trimmed its profit outlook because of the troubled global economy and the renewed strength of the dollar.

10 Things you didn't know about Trader Joe's.