A&P Gets a New CEO

Pathmark (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Attention Pathmark members: A&P has named Paul Hertz as new CEO.  Hertz replaces Sam Martin, read more.

Top 13 Things that Happened Last Week

— TOP 13 INDUSTRY/LABOR NEWS ARTICLES FROM THIS WEEK — 1. #WalmartStrikers Nationwide Action ON Thursday Walmart workers took action around the nation in support of  striking workers who were retaliated against.   We supported workers at an action in Valley Stream....Actions were held nationwide, like this flash mob in North Carolina a flash mob....Three protesters were arrested in NYC. You can head here to sign the petition to support the workers. 2.  "Cancer Isn't An Excuse" was told to a retail worker, check out how the mistreated workers got revenge on their boss. 3.  On Labor Day, too many workers are left in the shadows. 4.  Volkswagen won't fight off a unionization of a plant in Tennessee, and will instead work w/ the union to make a better workplace for employees...  5.  Costco sales are up 6%....Surpassing $100 billion. (yeah, that's not a typo). 6.  Eataly, the italian specialty store in Chelsea NYC, is having a food-festival, and announced they're expanding to Chicago. 7.  Pathmark closed 3 stores today in New Jersey.  Watch how some workers and customers sadly said goodbye. 8. Price Chopper unvieled a new 'Bistro' concept. 9.  Report: Transgender? Likely your rights will be violated at your workplace. 10. Paul Krugman writes in the NYTimes:  Last five-years have been a tragic waste...Before our last financial crisis 63% of adults were employed in the US, after that, it hasn't gone above 59% to date. 11.  On surveillance and online privacy: "The NSA laughs at your encryption efforts"- NY Times. 12.  Stop & Shop is offering Flu shots. 13.  Ignore the headlines, this new jobs report was very bad, according the the Washington Post. (US added 169,000 jobs, unemployment fell a notch down) Elsewhere Bonus 14.  How a Boston University hired Jackson Lewis to prevent Professors from organizing a union. Thanks! Did we miss something? Let us know! Reply to this message or tweet at us @ufcw1500!

Top 12 Stories from This Week! Labor Day, Fast Food and Civil Rights!

1. On Thursday, Fast-Food workers throughout the nation went on strike.    In the new wave of walkouts, workers have gained serious momentum. Check out the photos on tumblr.

Favorite Tweet:

NC NAACP president "you can't separate workers rights from civil rights" #829strike pic.twitter.com/N3bom7v80B

2.  Secretary of Labor Tom Perez wrote a message to all UFCW Members this Labor Day! 

3.  Happy Labor Day, Need a brief history of it? 

4.  Make sure you make your Labor Day UNION-MADE!  Here are some easy ways to make your weekend #unionmade.

5.  Here are 14 Labor struggles you should pay attention to this Labor Day.

6.  Senator Warren asks a tough question to colleagues: Why isn't the minimum wage $22 per hour?  Good Question, check this video out!

7.  Last night was our Labor Day celebration, Local 1500 Night w/ the Brooklyn Cyclones, check out the pics here!

8.  Local 400 ratifies a contract with Kroger.

9.  Last one on low wages, here's a statistic that will seriously irritate you.

10. Another Pathmark is closing in New Jersey.

11.  What has Labor done to make your day possible right now? Check this awesome site by AFSCME.

12.  We've added our voice to call on Walmart to pay a REAL wage to their employees and to re-instate their illegally fired strikers!  Add your voice to this Labor Day message!

Top 10 stories this week:

Walmart said they'd pay a living wage if they were allowed to building D.C.  Now, they're refusing to build if the $12.50 minimum wage bill in D.C. is passed.  Sign the petition to tell the Mayor of D.C. not to backdown!

A shameless full page ad in the Washington Post appeared yesterday by NLRB critics, claiming the NLRB is a puppet to organized labor.

70 retailers have signed on to improve working conditions in garment factories in Bangladesh.

Fresh & Easy launched a Food Truck.

Fairway makes two new hires for their new facility.

We protested with community members and other local unions this morning at the grand opening of Walmart in Levittown.  Patch wrote up on it, check out the photos on our Google Plus.

Pathmark to close 3 New Jersey stores.  Related story, A&P is in a Supermarket Reality TV Show. Also, Six Shaw's stores are slated to close.

In a story that's too crazy to be made up, Target's internal "Multi-Cultural Training Tips" for managing Hispanic workers were leaked....Graphic shows you the full list of tips, read the article at Huffington Post.

Kroger has bought the Harris-Teeter chain, in a $2.4 billion dollar deal.

We held our annual Summer Blood Drive & BBQ on Wednesday, thanks to all the donors and volunteers, we collected 129 pints of blood that will go to over 400 New Yorkers in need! Check out the photos here!

World Doesn't End, So Here's the Top News from This Week

Must Read: Walmart's Bribery Aisle: New details have emerged from the New York Times on the extent of Walmart's briberies in Mexico.

More: Bill Buck Editorial, Looking Deeper into the Walmart Mexico Bribery.

Walmart CEO, Mike Duke, spoke in NYC about corporate responsibility, without raising wages.

Update on the OUR Walmart Movement: "We are Winning!"

Fresh Market announced plans to open a new store in Saratoga N.Y.  They also plan on opening their second New Jersey store in 2013.

#TwinkieProblems: Police called in over Twinkie sale incident.

The Teamsters are back on a strike at United Natural Foods warehouse after calling it off last week.

Related articles

• Extensive report details Walmart's political bribery in Mexico

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.

Thursday Mornin' One-Liners

As we approach this important holiday, let's remember that we are united by the thirst for justice and for economic opportunity. Let's remember that we need not be limited by what we can see today, but that with faith and hard work we can transform America's dream into reality.
- Arlene Holt Baker, AFL-CIO Exec. VP in today's Detroit Free Press.

Delhazie plans to close 114 Food Lions, to close 164 total stores in US & Europe.

New Jersey wants some Fresh Direct.

Fresh & Green's, the company that bought some Superfresh stores late 2011, just selected a new marketing, advertising team.

AFL-CIO Executive VP, Arlene Holt Baker, gives an excellent guest commentary in the Detroit Free Press: "True Equality Still Challenges Us All."

Yet we know King's dream was not merely a dream about friendship, not some story about two unlikely friends communing across a great economic divide. His dream was about true equality -- economic, political and social justice.

Nike has finally agreed to pay $1 million in backwages to Indonesian workers.

The decision is being viewed as a symbolic victory, given that the compensation was rather modest and because Nike has long been accused of exploiting and underpaying employees toiling in its Third World factories.

Asbury Park Press: Pathmark in Stafford Closing Doors.

Target announced they'll be opening a store within a store today, a Target within a Target.

The UFCW Local 400 in Baltimore is embracing the #Occupy movement leading up to contract negotiations...

Weis will fill the void Pathmark left last year when the store closed in Hillsborough, New Jersey.

NY Industry News Briefs: 4/6-4/7

Image via Wikipedia

Forbes observes while Walmart and Target are changing to smaller format stores for more 'urban appeal', Aldi has the upper hand, as demonstrated in Queens.  Forbes.com.

Progressive Grocer was at the grand opening of Food Town in Williamsburg.

Stop & Shop celebrated their 21st anniversary.

A&P is suing Stop & Shop for allegedly  hiring a former executive, Rocky Vitale.

In D.C., Walmart protesters disrupted a City Council session.

Speaking of Walmart, it was announced recently they're the least loved department store on Social Media.

In San Diego, where Walmart is also spending millions of dollars to gain support to open a store, a bill passed requiring new "superstores" (90,000 sqft or more) to conduct economic impact analysis studies, part of the permit process.  Read more @ Sign on San Diego.

The UFCW rallied for justice for Fresh and Easy workers in California.

BJ's CEO Laura Sen made $4M this year.

From New Jersey: A&P Barnegat scheduled to close this month, the company is mum on workers.  Real estate owners say another tenant, possibly a supermarket may fill the vacant space.

In Wisconsin, voters are coming out against Gov. Scott Walker's candidates. 


The City canned plans to pave the Coney Island boardwalk with cement.

Thursday News Before Noon: Baltimore Supports Living Wage, Target Set to Open in Harlem Sunday...

Image via Wikipedia

East Harlem gets Big Boxes; Target set to Open Sunday:
After years of flirting with Manhattan, the bull's-eye has landed in East Harlem. Target's first store on the New York island officially opens Sunday — with merchandise tailored to the neighborhood, including Spanish-language greeting cards, multicultural dolls, religious candles and renowned Southern food produced locally. It's a key step in the discounter's push into urban markets to fuel its growth. Read More at the Daily News & NPR also covered the story.

Poll: Baltimore Supports Living Wage:
One day before a City Council subcommittee will meet to consider living-wage legislation governing large employers, a public opinion and strategy firm called Lake Research Partners has released a poll indicating that Baltimoreans support such legislation.

Supermarket News profiles the First Lady, Michelle Obama, noting her success and drive in Food Policy and expansion of healthy foods across the country.

Young Workers in New Jersey, Across Country, Struggling to Find Work:
Belleville’s Pathmark Supermarket, on Belmont Avenue, reported 40 percent of its spring/summer applicants being adults, versus their average 20 percent adult-applicant rate, before the recession. "Because of layoffs, people are willing to take anything nowadays," said Front-End Manager Kareemah Terr

A judge has thrown out the results of the controversial union vote at Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market Supplier:
Last July, Employees at 2 Sisters Food Group last July voted against representation by the United Food and Commercial Workers union by a count of 87-66. The supplier, based in Riverside, Calif., has subsequently been acquired by Fresh & Easy..  The judge found the company guilty of firing a "pro-union" employee and said the company must offer to reinstate Trespalacios to her former job and provide for lost wages and benefits. The union may choose to call for another union vote.  Read more at SN.

More @ The Press Enterprise

BJ's Wholesale Club Hits a New High.

California Retailers Victorious
In what attorneys called a “huge win for retailers in the Golden State,” a California Court of Appeal ruling has preserved the right of retailers to restrict union picketing on their properties.

Shaw's Workers: Back to Work...

Bottom Dollar Food set to open and expand throughout Philadelphia Area.

Wegmans is also opening a new superstore in the Philly Suburbs.

GROCERY UNION HEADS TO AIRWAVES TO FURTHER MESSAGE OF LOOMING STRIKE

GROCERY UNION HEADS TO AIRWAVES TO FURTHER MESSAGE OF LOOMING STRIKE

Union will Notify Millions of New Yorkers of Potential Strike over the July 4^th Weekend which would affect hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers

QUEENS VILLAGE, NY (06/23/2010)-- United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) Local 1500, New York State's largest grocery workers’ Union, has purchased airtime on New York’s number one AM Radio  station (1010WINS) to notify millions of New Yorkers of an impending strike with Pathmark/A&P, Stop & Shop Supermarket and King Kullen Markets.  UFCW Local 1500 is currently negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement with the three companies, though little progress has been made through months of negotiating.  The strike would affect supermarkets on Long Island, the Five Boroughs, Westchester, Putnam and Dutchess Counties and may also possibly affect supermarkets in New Jersey and Connecticut. The contract expiration date is Saturday, June 26th.  Any potential job action will directly affect the 4th of July weekend for hundreds of thousands of customers.

Beginning on June 23^rd, UFCW Local 1500 will run Public Service Announcements on 1010WINS, during “Drive-Time”.  The announcements will air during both the morning and evening commutes.  “This is a serious situation,” said Pat Purcell, a spokesperson for UFCW Local 1500. “We feel that it is our responsibility to notify the public of the gravity of the situation.” UFCW Local 1500 began notifying the public and law enforcement agencies of the impending strike last week. The release informed customers that fulfillment of their 4^th of July grocery orders rests upon fragile and boiling labor negotiations. “Frankly speaking, Stop and Shop, King Kullen and Pathmark are playing with fire, and it’s their customers who will get burned.”
The looming strike would affect over 150 Supermarkets, 16,000 workers and hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers. “The three companies have put their corporate greed in front of doing what’s right, both for their employees, and for their customers. As members of the communities they do business in, these companies have a responsibility to their customers, right now, they’re essentially gambling with their customers’ 4^th of July weekend plans.” Purcell concluded.

United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1500 will continue purchasing airtime and print media throughout the week to keep the Public informed of the looming strike. “We’ll continue to be honest with the public while Stop and Shop, King Kullen and Pathmark continue to avoid reality.” The Union has also set up a website which will notify the consumers with updates about the potential strike. The website is www.nysupermarkets.com.

United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 1500 is based out of Queens Village and represents 23,000 grocery workers in the Metropolitan New York area

Butchers' Union to Honor Picket Lines If Grocery Workers Strike

News from UFCW Local 1500

Butchers' Union to Honor Picket Lines If Grocery Workers Strike

First Strike Authorization Meetings Set for Wednesday, June 23rd

QUEENS VILLAGE, NY (06/22/2010) -- United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) Local 1500, New York State's largest grocery workers’ Union, has received the support of UFCW Local 342, who represents Butchers as well employees from the deli and seafood departments at Stop and Shop, Pathmark and King Kullen. In the event of a strike at these stores, the members of UFCW Local 342 will join UFCW Local 1500 members on the picket line.

"The leadership of UFCW Local 342, led by President Richard Abondola notified us last night that they will honor all UFCW Local 1500 picket lines set up at Pathmark, King Kullen and Stop and Shop," said Patrick Purcell, spokesperson for UFCW Local 1500. "This will effectively shut down these stores going into the 4th of July weekend. Any statement to the contrary from these supermarkets would an outright deception of their loyal customers."

UFCW Local 1500 President Bruce W. Both thanked UFCW Local 342 for their support. "As they have been for so many years, President Abondola and the members of UFCW Local 342 continue to be a true symbol of the word solidarity."

In other action, the Union will be conducting their first strike authorization meetings this Wednesday, June 23 at the following locations:

- International JFK Airport Hotel: 144-02 135th Ave. Jamaica, NY 11436

- Sheraton Long Island Hotel (Suffolk Smithtown Room & Vanderbilt Room): 110 Motor Parkway, Smithtown, NY 11788

- Holiday Inn Mount Kisco: One Holiday Inn Drive [Exit 37-Saw Mill Pkwy.] Mount Kisco, NY 10549

All meetings are scheduled to start at 7:00 PM and conclude by 8:00 PM

Any media outlet wishing to attend should contact UFCW Local 1500 @ 1-800-522-0456

Any strike action would affect over 150 supermarkets and 16,000 workers. The strike would affect supermarkets on Long Island, the Five Boroughs, Westchester, Putnam and Dutchess Counties with its effects being felt in New Jersey and Connecticut. The contract expiration date is Saturday June 26.

For consumers, the Union has sent up a web address that will lead them to public updates about the potential strike. The website is www.nysupermarkets.com.

United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 1500 is based out of Queens Village and represents 23,000 grocery workers in the Metropolitan New York area

Related articles by Zemanta

• UFCW Local 1500 Calls Federal Mediator into Contract Negotiations Urges Supermarkets Not to Mislead Public about Affects of Strike (ufcwblog.blogspot.com)
• Media Advisory: Grocery Union Urges Consumers to Use Caution When Placing 4th of July Food Orders (ufcwblog.blogspot.com)

UFCW Local 1500 Calls Federal Mediator into Contract Negotiations Urges Supermarkets Not to Mislead Public about Affects of Strike

News from UFCW Local 1500

Grocery Workers Union Calls Federal Mediator into Contract Negotiations

Urges Supermarkets Not to Mislead Public about Affects of Strike

QUEENS VILLAGE, NY (06/21/2010)-- United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW ) Local 1500, New York State's largest grocery workers’ Union, has called Federal Mediators into negotiations with the three major supermarkets in hopes of avoiding a crippling strike that would affect over 150 supermarkets and 16,000 workers. Companies involved in the negotiations are Stop and Shop Supermarket, King Kullen Markets and A&P/Pathmark. The strike would affect supermarkets on Long Island, the Five Boroughs, Westchester, Putnam and Dutchess Counties with its effect possibly being felt in New Jersey and Connecticut. The contract expiration date is Saturday June 26th. Any potential job action will affect the 4th of July weekend for hundreds of thousands of customers.

"We are doing everything we can to avoid a strike," said Patrick Purcell, spokesperson for UFCW Local 1500 "However, this is a fight between what our members need to survive versus the companies immoral greed. That is the fight: Need versus greed."

The Union also urged the supermarkets not to mislead the public regarding their ability to operate in the event of a strike, "It would be irresponsible to announce that everything will operate as usual in the event of a strike. To be less than honest to customers would be a real slap in the faces, this could affect sales long after any dispute is settled." said Purcell.

Purcell questioned the publics' willingness to shop in striking stores. "Does the public want their money exchanging hands with an inexperienced cashier?" Purcell asked. "Do they want to place their bakery orders with some store manager from New Jersey who is more accustomed to eating doughnuts than baking them? The public needs to consider shopping alternatives in the event of a strike. That is the bottom line." Purcell concluded.

"We do not want a strike" said UFCW Local 1500 Harry Hammin, a Pathmark worker and member of the Union negotiating committee. "However, the supermarkets seem to be doing everything they can to guarantee there will be a strike. If that's what they want, then that is what they will get."

For consumers, the Union has sent up a web address that will lead them to public updates about the potential strike. The website is www.nysupermarkets.com.

United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 1500 is based out of Queens Village and represents 23,000 grocery workers in the Metropolitan New York area

Media Advisory: Grocery Union Urges Consumers to Use Caution When Placing 4th of July Food Orders

News from UFCW Local 1500

Grocery Union Urges Consumers to Use Caution When Placing 4th of July Food Orders...

Picket Lines and Staff Shortages Would Affect Service

QUEENS VILLAGE, NY (06/18/2010)(readMedia)-- United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 1500, New York State's largest grocery workers' Union, is urging shoppers to exercise "caution" as they begin to place their food orders for the upcoming Fourth of July holiday. The "Consumer Alert" is part of the Union's campaign to notify the public of a potential strike that could affect over 150 supermarkets and 16,000 workers. With contracts set to expire Saturday, June 26th, any potential job action could affect the 4th of July weekend for tens of thousands of customers. Companies involved in the negotiations are Stop and Shop Supermarket, King Kullen Markets and Pathmark, which is owned by A&P (Great Atlantic and Pacific Company).

"Due to the potential of a strike over the Fourth of July weekend, we urge shoppers to consider alternatives when placing their food orders at Pathmark and the other two companies," said Patrick Purcell, spokesperson for UFCW Local 1500. "Customers have a right to know what is happening. In the event of a labor dispute, no matter what "contingency plans" the three companies will try to implement, no shopper should feel comfortable putting their deli, bakery, floral or produce orders in the hands of a Supermarket whose workers are on strike."

"The area that would be affected is home to over one million union households" Purcell explained. "Those families will never cross a picket line. Nor will the friends and neighbors of the workers who are on strike. Should there be a strike or the continued threat of a strike at Pathmark and the other Supermarkets, the best solution for everyone would be to seek other shopping options till the dispute is resolved."

Greg Pasqual, a Stop and Shop worker from Dutchess County, explained the problem. "You can't replace 80% of your workforce expecting to deliver the same quality products and customer service shoppers demand from Stop and Shop and the two other Supermarkets."

"Even if they [Stop & Shop and Pathmark] transfer help from Connecticut and New Jersey into the striking stores, that would just hurt customers who shop at those Supermarkets in New Jersey and Connecticut. King Kullen does not even have that option and would face massive staff shortages. We need to avoid this strike so no one, especially our customers, will have their Holiday weekend ruined," Pasquale concluded.

For consumers, the Union has sent up a web address that will lead them to public updates about the potential strike. The website is www.nysupermarkets.com.

United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 1500 is based out of Queens Village and represents 23,000 grocery workers in the Metropolitan New York area.

Permalink: http://readme.readmedia.com/Grocery-Union-Urges-Consumers-to-Use-Caution-When-Placing-

Wednesday Morning One-Liners: Wal-Mart's Discrimination Suit, Brooklyn Plans

Wal-Mart & Brooklyn

NY1: A Wal-Mart Battle Grows in Brooklyn
With speculation mounting that Wal-Mart may try and open a store in Brooklyn, opponents of the big box retailer are already fighting back. NY1's Grace Rauh filed the following report. (video)

Supermarket News: ShopRite, Wal-Mart Said to Eye Brooklyn...
Both this week were said to be separately preparing to build new store sites in Brooklyn, though neither retailer had made an official announcement.

Brooklyn Eagle: Wal-Mart Coming to East NY?
“There’s no argument that Walmart will shut down small businesses,” said Pat Purcell, assistant to the President of United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Union Local 1500. It has been seen many times over that the low wages and vast array of products Walmart offers make this outcome inevitable. “Small businesses are killed,” he said.

WSJ: Wal-Mart a Target, Even Just Shopping

More @ WPIX11,

Wal-Mart Gender Suit
SN Wal-Mart Mulling Supreme Appeal
A U.S. appeals court here has ruled against Wal-Mart Stores in a lawsuit filed by former female employees who claim the retailer discriminated against women in awarding pay and promotions, but Wal-Mart said it is considering appealing the case to the Supreme Court.

NY Times: Steven Greenhouse, Wal-Mart Gender Case Divides Court
In a closely watched case, a sharply divided federal appeals court on Monday ruled 6-5 that a sex discrimination lawsuit against Wal-Mart could proceed as a class action for more than a million women. The suit is the biggest employment discrimination case in the nation’s history.

Forbes: Wal-Mart faces largest sex-discrimination suit in U.S. History.


Is this the employer we want in our city?

Shaw's gets support
Progressive Grocer: Unionized employees at Acme Markets in Philadelphia and New Jersey, and Shoppers Food & Drug in Maryland and Virginia are throwing their support behind the 300 workers at the Shaw’s warehouse in Methuen, Mass., who have been on strike since early March.

More @ Supermarket News

Head's up Connecticut, the Food Bazaar is expanding to CT
The New York-based chain with 16 stores specializing in serving inner-city customers, is slated to host a grand opening of its first Connecticut location here next Thursday, May 6.

LoHud: ShopRite Gets Permit to Build a City Center in White Plains
Following several months of review, the city handed a building permit to ShopRite, paving the way for the largest downtown supermarket to open at the City Center mall this fall.

Brooklyn Navy Yard
Admiral's Row to Mowed Down for ShopRite

NY Post: Brooklyn Navy Yard breaking walls to open new ShopRite



NY Times: In Wake of Immigration Law, Calls for an Economic Boycott of Arizona
A spreading call for an economic boycott of Arizona after its adoption of a tough immigration law that opponents consider racially discriminatory worried business leaders on Monday and angered the governor. 

Friday Morning One Liners:

“We’re tired of being taken for granted,” said Alan Hughes, president of the Arkansas AFL-CIO. “It’s like, ‘We want your help to get elected, we want your money, we want the ground workers,’ but when it comes time to [act on the union’s priorities] … they’re not listening.”
-Alan Hughes, President Arkansas AFL-CIO in The Hill: "Unions taking on Dems who don't toe the Labor Line

Long Island Press: Whole Foods to open it's third Long Island store
The new location will open its doors in Lake Grove on March 17, but for the extra anxious the store will open for a public preview on March 15–just in time to pick up some organic ale for St. Patrick’s Day.
The new, 48,000-square-foot-store, located at 120 New Moriches Road, just outside of Smith Haven Mall and Trader Joe’s, will open just in time to serve area shoppers during the Easter and Passover season...


Whole Foods has sold another Wild Oats store, this one in Portland, Maine, to Trader Joe's.

Tops Markets announced today that they will be closing their Ogdensburg location, the former P&C store on April 10th, 2010.

Crain's: Groundbreaking at Atlantic Yards comes years late.

NY1 looks at the new Best Yet in Harlem. "They don't got supermarkets like this in this neighborhood around here. Maybe like 20 blocks away or 10 blocks away, but not in this immediate neighborhood," said shopper Angel Cortes.

Approximately 3,500 Costco Teamsters in New Jersey, New York, Maryland and Virginia have ratified a new three-year agreement that includes wage increases and annual guaranteed bonuses that the labor union said will maintain the members’ distinction as the highest-paid retail workers in the country.

Shaw's
Sign a petition to support Shaw's workers:
Shaw's warehouse workers and Local 791 members in Massachusetts need your support! These Shaw's employees work hard to make their company successful, and they deserve a fair contract.

The Eagle Tribune: Shaw's workers vow to continue strike.


Nation & Politics

The Hill: Unions taking on Dems who don't toe the Labor Line

Frustrated at seeing their legislative agenda stymied, unions are becoming increasingly active in competitive Democratic Senate primaries.  Across the country, labor groups are using their organizational muscle early against candidates whom they see as having walked away from their agenda.
By doing so, they’re exposing schisms between centrist and liberal Democratic lawmakers who have struggled to come through on the campaign promises made to union members. The Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), healthcare reform and even a nominee to the little-known National Labor Relations Board have stalled in a Congress controlled by the largest majorities Democrats have enjoyed in a generation...
 
Retailers spend $850,000 lobbying in 4Q
The Retail Industry Leaders Association spent $850,000 in the fourth quarter to lobby on a variety of issues from health care reform to consumer product safety, according to a recent disclosure report. The Arlington, Va.-based trade group — whose members include Wal-Mart Stores Inc., The Home Depot Inc. and Target Corp. — also lobbied the federal government on legislation involving credit card reform, tarriffs on clothings, organized crime, and food safety, according to a form filed Jan. 20.

NY Times: Democrats Struggle to Finish Health Bill

Monday News at Noon: Gillibrand visits Staten Island ShopRite

Crain's NY: Fairway Negotiating for another NYC Site.
Upper East Side residents may soon have a better selection of produce and dairy products to choose from. Fairway Market is in negotiation for a lease at 240 E. 86th St., between Second and Third avenues, according to two real estate sources.

Pathmark is replacing a planned film studio in Philadelphia, plans on opening new store early 2011.

Walmart announced last week it plans to eliminate approximately 300 positions, primarily in the corporate support area at its main offices here, in an effort to be more efficient.

Senator at your Supermarket: Senator Gillibrand (NY) meet with Staten Island shoppers and ShopRite employees in Staten Island Saturday. 

UFCW Local 7: Colorado:  Safeway & King Soopers Ratify.
Safeway and Kroger-owned King Soopers grocery store clerks and meat cutters on Thursday voted overwhelmingly to ratify a four-year contract that they rejected in a vote late last year. The new agreement covers about 3,000 retail clerks and meat cutters in Denver, Broomfield, Parker and Castle Pines.

More: Union improves grocery contracts.

Stop & Shop provides tours to Elementary School children.
The tour is now called the “Stop & Shop Store Explorer Program,” and includes information about recycling, the environment and Stop & Shop’s Healthy Ideas shelf-tag program.

Stop & Shop has been advertising for new 'temporary workers' throughout New England, with contracts expiring on Feb. 20.

More @ The Provincetown Banner

BJ's Wholesale Club opened their store in Flushing on Saturday, instead of cutting a ribbon, they broke bread.

Fox News: Harlem Costco struggles to catch on.

Notorious developer Joe Sitt, plans on developing a $100 million shopping center in Bensonhurst, anchored by a BJ's Wholesale Club.

Tops Markets
Watertown Daily Times: Tops Markets is trying to find another unionized grocer to purchase seven former P&C stores in the north country, partly because they're too far from the Buffalo-based company's core service region, according to grocery union officials.

More @ Syracuse.com

More @ ABC News

A King Kullen Supermarket on Forest Avenue in Glen Cove held a ribbon cutting ceremony and grand re-opening on Friday, January 29 after the renovations of the supermarket were completed.

800 Superfresh workers in New Jersey will vote on a contract today with UFCW Local 152.

A look at the new proposed 11,000 sqft Foodtown in the Bronx, who applied for FRESH incentives.

Politics
John Durso, President of UFCW/RWDSU 338 Editorial: Focus on Green Jobs.

Philadelphia residents can now earn hundreds of dollars and gift cards for recycling with the city's new "Recycle Rewards" program.

NY Labor Commissioner (Patricia Smith) gets the nod for Federal job.

Soda Tax
State Sen. Brian X. Foley (D-Blue Point) last week, led a rally of beverage industry workers against Governor Paterson's proposed 50 percent tax on soda and other drinks.  Thomas Cullen, Vice President of Government and Industry Relations for the King Kullen Grocery Company, said: "This tax on beverages is a regressive tax that will hurt families during difficult economic times. The retail food industry works hard to keep prices down for our customers, but this tax will severely drive up cost to consumers."

Obama's Budget funds Food Retailers in Underserved Areas.
In his 2011 budget proposal, President Barack Obama has called for over $400 million in investments in new and expanded supermarkets, farmers markets’ and other food stores. A public-€private grant and loan program would significantly reduce the roughly 23 million Americans with limited access to full‐service supermarkets and create thousands of retail and construction jobs in low-income areas. The investment, split among the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service, and the U.S. Department of the Treasury, includes $250 million in New Market Tax Credit allocations to encourage private investment in underserved communities.

Monday News at Noon

A hearing Monday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court should seal the sale of beleaguered Penn Traffic Co. to Tops Markets.

Acme cuts hours of 131 employees
The recession and price deflation are being blamed for cuts in employee hours and positions at Akron-based grocer Acme Fresh Markets.

Walmart has laid off an unspecified number of Sam's Club staffers, say several former employees of the company, a report from Forbes.com.

More:
Business Week: Wal-Mart Stores Inc.’s Sam’s Club chain, the second-largest U.S. warehouse club, will cut about 11,200 jobs in the next month after hiring an outside company to take over in-store product demonstrations.

Wall Street Journal:  Sam's Club, engaged in a tough struggle to stand apart from competitors, is cutting about 11,000 jobs and is turning to an independent marketing firm to handle in-store product demonstrations at its warehouses nationwide.

The Hudson Reporter reports on the new Walmart in Bergen County's impact on other supermarkets throughout New Jersey.

The New York Times reports on Walmart's continued struggles expanding in Chicago.

Walmart is also facing expansion troubles in Ontario.

The Brooklyn Daily Eagle covers the Outer Borough Supermarket Attraction event.

Brooklyn Daily Eagle: Borough Pres calls for more Affordable Units, Supermarket in retail space.

And Elizabeth Benjamin reports Bloomberg says the city will be forced to layoff 18,500 workers if Patterson's "unfair" budget is enacted.

Wednesday Morning One Liners...Walmart video tapes a restroom?

"I am absolutely and utterly incredulous that any company, especially a company of the size of Wal-Mart, would allow people to do this," McLain said today. "I can't believe that they had the audacity to do this."
-Erv McLain, Attorney representing current and former employees at a Pennsylvania Wal-Mart, alleging that Wal-Mart had authorized surveillance video-taping of an employee/customer uni-sex restroom.

The New Jersey Food Council here has announced opposition to a proposed $0.02 cents per gallon tax on all fluid milk sold in New Jersey. The tax was proposed last week as part of a plan to help the state's dairy farmers, who have struggled this year with a collapse in the wholesale price of milk.

A&P announced they will be offering coupons via www.coupons.com

A Wal-Mart in Pennsylvania secretly video taped employees and customers in the restroom. 

Is Walmart the future of Local Food?
One of the most important historic developments in the food economy is embodied in this statistic: in 1900, 40 percent of every dollar spent on food went to the farmer or rancher while the rest was split between inputs and distribution. Now? 7 cents on the dollar goes to the producer and 73 cents goes just to distribution. That’s worth keeping in mind when you read things like this:

... Wal-Mart, now the nation’s largest supermarket chain as well as retailer, has gotten into the local scene, embarking on an effort to procure more of its produce from local growers...

Read the article here.

Hannaford bought a former Stop & Shop in Maine.

Wine-vending Machines? Really?
Approximately 100 Pennsylvania grocery stores may soon be offering self-service wine-vending kiosks in a new program developed in partnership with the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board.(Image, Right, via ProgressiveGrocer.com)

You can watch Local 1500 President Bruce Both's speech at the Good Food Good Jobs coalition's celebration on FRESH here.

The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co., Inc. (A&P) has made a $20,000 donation to the “Table to Table” community-based food-rescue program to help feed the hungry during the holiday season.

Grand Junction Free Press in Colorado writes on some Safeway workers receiving a signing bonus for ratifying the company's 'final offer.'

NY Times: Former New York Times building to become mall, condos, hotel.

Monday Morning One Liners...

“We look forward to the supermarket...It is critical that the residents [who live nearby] in public housing do not live in a food desert.” 
- Councilwoman Leticia James (WFP), on the "Recession-Proof Brooklyn Navy Yard".

The nation's first housing development to start construction with federal stimulus money is under investigation for cheating workers out of wages, the Daily News has learned.

UFCW members in Fry's and Safeway in Arizona are likely to strike by Friday if contract negoatations are not resolved, Supermarket News  and the AP reports.

On Friday, Ahold said it has reorganized its business in the U.S. and Europe to better focus on local market nuances and growth opportunities.   The company divided its Stop & Shop operations into two divisions based on geography — Stop & Shop New England and Stop & Shop Metro New York — creating a total of four U.S. divisions, including Giant-Landover and Giant-Carlisle.

Crain's: The recession proof Brooklyn Navy Yard plans on getting a new supermarket very soon.

A Trader Joe's opened in New Jersey Friday on what was once a former Whole Foods site. 

Wal-Mart's India:
Wal-Mart opened their first store in India, Chairman Robson Walton met with Prime Minister Singh, and plans on opening 40 more stores throughout India, increasing the already dominant grasp the retail giant has on the global market.

Crain's: Growing the Market, a spotlight on Fairway Market.

The unemployment rate in New York City has been above 10 percent for months, but it's thought to be even worse within the city's 343 public housing developments.

Nassau Officials have started the recount for the Suozzi - Mangano race, putting Suozzi's future in limbo.

Elizabeth Benjamin asks if Bill Thompson's future could be in Washington, possibly challenging Gillibrand?