Local 1500 Meets with Mayor Bloomberg to Help with Struggling A&P

Courtesy of SupermarketNews.com

In late December, Local 1500 executives met with Mayor Bloomberg, seeking help for the struggling A&P.  Supermarket News covered the story, and NY1 had an exclusive (with video).  Local 1500 is determined to exhaust all resources and options to help the struggling A&P who recently filed for bankruptcy.  Local 1500 President, Bruce Both has also sent letters to all Pathmark members which may be found here.  President Both has also sent personal letters to both Mayor Bloomberg and City Council Speaker, Christine Quinn, which can be found here.

Local 1262 extends negotations, Monday Morning One Liners..

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Supermarket News picked up Friday's Pathmark protest.

UFCW Local 1262 extends their contract negotiations.

Exon Mobil overtakes Wal-Mart Stores to top the Fortune 500.

UFCW steps up organizing efforts at Wal-Mart.

More Wal-Mart's around the country are showing signs of organizing.

The Henry Street Gristedes was damaged by a fire last week.

Safeway and Trader Joe's named most ethical.

Another supermarket ends online delivery.

BJ's eyes are still on Pittsburgh.

If you were wondering John Catsidmatids (Gristedes) did sleep in the Lincoln bedroom during the Clinton administration.

Woman was charged with embezzling $147K from the Fresh Market.

Dick Cheney has been caught shopping at Balducci's.

The closing fire sale at Balducci's has begun.

Progressive Grocer has more on the store closures...Balducci's has said they are “look[ing] forward to making an exciting announcement about the six continuing stores soon.”

The economy has stalled the progress of the Hyde Park Stop & Shop.

And finally a study has confirmed that teens tend to be "fatter" when a fast food restaurant is within one block of their school...

Wegmans Food Markets is testing new, larger shopping carts at a store here, the company said in a local news report last week.
Read more of this story

Whole Foods changes approach, Wal-Mart in China, Tuesday Morning One Liners....

Whole Foods tries to change their image and remove the stereo-type 'Whole Pay Check' in these harsh economic times.

Whole Foods struggles in the UK: The company behind London's largest organic supermarket has suffered a £10m loss in the store's first year, as cash-strapped shoppers start to turn away from expensive food.

Wal-Mart to sign collective contracts at all China stores.

As we reported yesterday, Gourmet grocer Balducci's here yesterday said it has sealed an agreement with a real estate developer in Dubai to open multiple locations in that United Arab Emirates city.
Read more of this story

Shaw's said workers represented by United Food and Commercial Workers Local 791 have ratified a new, five-year contract covering 5,500 employees at 38 stores in southern Massachusetts and Rhode Island and the Shaw's distribution center in Wells, Maine.
Read more of this story

On the recent contract Local 791 spokesman Peter Derouen said. "We were able to get rid of the bonuses and get general wage increases for everyone,” he said. “The company had really been pushing to freeze the pension plan and then introduce a 401(k) plan, which we were able to fight off.”

Must Read:

Supermarket News editorial: Economic Storm Finally Crashes into Supermarkets.

Verizon Communications' union workers stayed on the job yesterday as their leaders continued to meet with management to hammer out remaining sticking points and avoid a threatened strike.

More on Eli Zabar and his new farm.

Political

Nassau: Plan for tough '09

Tuesday Morning One Liners...

Morning blurbs

Fresh Direct is offering groceries and produce at a discount to the entire South Bronx.

Rite Aid Corp. has agreed to pay New Jersey up to $650,000 to settle a lawsuit charging that dozens of its stores in the state sold expired infant formula, baby food, and over-the-counter medications.

Unions plan to rally in favor of the contentious $3 billion Willets Point redevelopment on Thursday at City Hall, as the Bloomberg administration moves closer to getting approval for the project. Last week, the city reached land-purchase agreements with three businesses, but several landowners still oppose the project that will develop housing, retail business, a hotel and convention center on 62 acres in northeast Queens. The public review process has begun, and Community Board 7 held a public meeting last week.

The prospect that Barack Obama will face labor troubles at the Democratic National Convention in Denver this August is increasing.

A&P here yesterday released a summary of year-ago financial results from Pathmark Stores, adjusted to conform with A&P’s financial calendar and to conform with A&P accounting practices.
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A new three-year labor contract has been approved covering more than 4,300 workers at Rite Aid Corp. drug stores in the northern two-thirds of California.

One Blog thinks RWDSU Local 338 President John Durso is calling for government run supermarkets.

Speaking of incentives....Central Grocers here will receive $3.9 million in incentives from Illinois to relocate its distribution center from here to Joliet, Ill.
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Ralphs Supermarkets in California, a division of Kroger Co., Cincinnati, is poised to lower prices at all of its Southern California stores tomorrow, according to an ad in a regional newspaper.
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Online grocer FreshDirect here has selected AirClic, Trevose, Pa., to facilitate the tracking of its grocery delivery orders from its Long Island City warehouse facility to customers' doorsteps.
Read more of this story

Politics

With Joe Bruno's exit, Senate reign in sight for state Democrats

Morning Read

David Wild, who was said to be heading up the development of Wal-Mart’s small-format Marketside concept, is leaving to join British retailer Halfords Group as chief executive officer, Halfords said Friday.
Read more of this story

The King Kullen Supermarket chain has plans to build a superstore in the Tuckahoe Hills area within the next few years.

A new study has found that New York City needs at least seven new dry docks like that one that Ikea turned into a parking lot in Red Hook. Experts say it could cost about $1 billion to replace the 730-foot-long former graving dock. The Port of New York has 18 dry docks, including four larger graving docks. The study estimated the port would lose $50 million to $150 million in revenue over the next five years because it does not have enough docks. Opponents of the Ikea, which opened last week, want the city to take back its dock because they say it would be less costly than building a new one.

A&P Press Release; MONTVALE, N.J.-- (BUSINESS WIRE) -- The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, Inc. (A&P, NYSE Symbol: GAP) has published on it’s website, unaudited prior year quarterly information for Pathmark Stores Inc, acquired in December 2007, in response to shareholder inquiries concerning the effect of the acquisition on Pathmark’s prior year results including summarization of Pathmark’s results to conform to A&P’s quarterly reporting calendar, the impact of purchase accounting adjustments and classifications of certain non operating items consistent with A&P practices.

Supervalu Inc. hired the CEO of online grocer Fresh Direct to become its new chief marketing officer.

A permanent fresh food market will open on South Street this summer, as part of the long-term redevelopment plans for Pier 17 and the Seaport. The 16-stall market is the first of General Growth Properties' plans, which call for a 495-foot tower, hotels and condos, retail buildings, and the relocation of the landmark-protected Tin Building. A community center and a public plaza are also in the works. Read the entire story here.

The soaring price of food has complicated efforts by Whole Foods, the nation's largest natural and organic grocery store, to move toward provide "more sustainable" products, a company official said on Friday.

Here's more on how Whole Foods & Wal-Mart are coping with high food costs.

Ed Ott, the executive director of the New York City Central Labor Council, an umbrella group for the city’s labor unions, has an unexpected and unnerving warning for New York’s more than one million union members.

There already are vending machines outside most so-called big-box stores that dispense soda cans. But similar machines may soon be collecting them. A bill that cleared the state Senate last week and is now before the Assembly for a vote will, if it passes, require large retail stores such Costco, Sam's Club, BJ's Wholesale Club and Wal-Mart to install reverse vending machines, or RVMs.

Politics

Francis H. Powers, a retired Wall Street executive who was recently selected by Republican leaders on Staten Island as their candidate for the Congressional seat being vacated by Representative Vito J. Fossella, died on Saturday at his home on Staten Island.

When the numbers were finally and officially tallied a little over a week ago, Anthony Como had won a special election for a City Council seat by a mere 41 votes. Mr. Como’s razor-thin victory in a four-candidate race is not only a triumph for him, but also a victory that brings bragging rights for the Queens County Republican Party’s leadership.

Rep. Anthony Weiner has sworn off special interest money for his mayoral campaign next year - but he's raking it in for his congressional reelection bid this fall, federal records show.

Brooklyn community activists are putting up candidates for the borough's Democratic county committee.

Community Board 2 is set to vote on the Hunts Point new mega-development.

Hillary Clinton made her first major public appearance in New York yesterday.

In addition to Obama and McCain, Clinton will speak at the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials

Thursday Morning One Liners...

Ikea opens in Red Hook [Post] and [Brooklyn Eagle] and [Brooklyn Paper]

Mark McEwan, a noted restaurateur and television chef, is planning to open a gourmet grocery store in Toronto next year Read more of this story

City health officials here yesterday confirmed six new cases of salmonella linked to contaminated tomatoes.
Read more of this story

Waldbaums pharmacists represented by Local 338 of the United Food and Commercial Workers union here on Wednesday said they have filed a claim against A&P with the National Labor Relations Board, charging the retailer with engaging in unfair labor practices during negotiations for a new contract.
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Walter D’Agostino signed on with the rival supermarket chain to revitalize its ailing stores, six years after walking away from the family business.

Kroger reaches tentative contract with Indianapolis-area workers
MSN Money - USA
Kroger Co. said it has a tentative deal on a new contract with the United Food & Commercial Workers Union Local 700 in Indianapolis. ...

City health officials on Wednesday confirmed six new cases of salmonella linked to a nationwide outbreak of infected tomatoes, bringing the total number of New York City cases to seven.

Albor Ruiz writes on the looming threat of Hunger in NYC.

New York City is set to start fining chain restaurants that don't post calorie counts on their menus by next month.

Judge Approves Deal to Settle Suit Over Wage Violations

A federal judge on Wednesday provisionally approved the first part of proposed settlements totaling $3.9 million in two closely watched wage-violation lawsuits brought against one of Manhattan's leading restaurant owners. The judge, Paul A. Crotty, of Federal District Court in Manhattan, approved a $588,000 settlement in a lawsuit against the Redeye Grill, a Midtown restaurant, and indicated that he would soon approve a second settlement of more than $3 million against other restaurants owned by the Fireman Hospitality Group, which owns Redeye. Those restaurants are Cafe Fiorello, Bond 45, Brooklyn Diner, Shelly's and Trattoria Dell'Arte. Waiters and other workers charged that Fireman's restaurants often violated wage and hour laws by erasing hours from employees' time cards, not paying the minimum wage and overtime, giving managers part of the tips and docking employees' paychecks if their customers walked out without paying. Five workers are also threatening to bring a new lawsuit charging sexual harassment and racial discrimination.

Friday Morning One Liners...

Pathmark is trying to return to it's 'Low Cost' roots.

Brooklyn Paper dreams of having Wal-Mart in the neighborhood.

A new study shows that unionized workers in the lowest wage brackets in New York state earn 16% more than non-union workers with similar education.

California's attorney general has filed suit against four manufacturers, including Whole Foods Market Inc., accusing them of failing to label soap products that contain a potentially cancer-causing chemical.

The United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7 said today that it is withdrawing two of four proposed ballot initiatives, part of an effort to get business interests to pull their right-to-work measure. "We want to show that we're open to negotiation with the business community," said Manny Gonzales, a spokesman for UFCW Local 7, which represents food and health care workers and barbers in the Rocky Mountain region.

Montauk and Shinnecock fishermen will meet for the second time with representatives of the United Food and Commercial Workers union this afternoon at the Top of the Wharf restaurant in Hampton Bays.

Unionized workers at Tops Markets have overwhelmingly approved a three-year contract. United Food and Commercial Workers Local One said its members voted 97 percent in favor of the deal. Utica-based Local One represents about 9,000 workers at Tops stores in New York state and Pennsylvania.

Penn Traffic has reached a tentative contract agreement with United Food and Commercial Workers Local One, the union representing roughly two-thirds of its workforce, the retailer here said.

John Mackey, founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Whole Foods Market here, said he has some regrets about last year’s Wild Oats acquisition, a merger of the two largest so-called “super-natural” retailers that triggered an antitrust investigation and an inquiry by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Read more of this story

Specialty grocery chain The Fresh Market here will make its debut in New England next year as part of a new waterfront shopping district under construction in Hingham, Mass.

A major retail expansion is under way in Brooklyn, especially in Red Hook and downtown. The emergence of more retail stores comes in response to rising local incomes, growing demand for quality goods, and a national consolidation of retail into urban areas to avoid high energy costs, experts say....Ikea is leading this new retail push.

Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo said his office intends to take legal action against drug chains Rite Aid and CVS after a state investigation revealed their stores sold expired products including milk, eggs, medicines and baby formula.
Read more of this story

Two statewide drug store chains have been selling expired food, medicine and baby formula, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said Thursday.Cuomo said the items were found at 142 CVS and 112 Rite Aid pharmacies in New York. Many stores sold milk and eggs that had expired, and some sold medications that were more than a year past their expiration dates.

Officials Find Expired Items at Drugstores in New York

Stores still selling expired pills

BIG RX CHAINS RATTLED

Policy

Just over 3 million city residents, or 38% of the population, had difficulty affording food for themselves and their families last year, according to a report from the city's Food Bank.

Daily News : Tough to pay for food, 35% say

NY Sun :More Families Report Trouble Affording Food

Political

Labor union officials and some liberal activists were seething Tuesday over Barack Obama's choice of centrist economist Jason Furman as the top economic advisor for the campaign. The critics say Furman, who was appointed to the post Monday, has overstated the potential benefits of globalization, Social Security private accounts and the low prices offered by Wal-Mart -- considered a corporate pariah by the labor movement.

The Queens County Board of Elections commissioner, Anthony Como, will represent the 30th district in Queens in the City Council after winning a special election to replace Council Member Dennis Gallagher, who resigned earlier this year after pleading guilty to misdemeanor charges of sexual abuse.

Union endorses Hiram Monserrate over Sabini in Queens Senate race

City Councilman Hiram Monserrate picked up another endorsement Wednesday in his bid to unseat state Sen. John Sabini. The New York Hotel and Motel Trades Council tossed its support behind Monserrate

Anthony Weiner wants more foreign models in America.

And it looks like Babe Ruth's house has finally been found.

Tuesday Morning One Liners...

D'Agostino Supermarkets President and Chief Operating Officer Nicholas D'Agostino III was recently named chairman of the Food Industry Alliance of New York State here.
Read more of this story

Aldi here on Monday opened the doors to a store in East Syracuse, N.Y., that showcases the chain’s new marketing and environmental approaches, a report said yesterday.
Read more of this story

A State Supreme Court judge in Suffolk Monday invalidated a controversial worker status law that required Suffolk County's 17,000 licensed contractors to prove their employees are not undocumented immigrants.

Talk Bronx, has covered the loss of the supermarket throughout NYC.

Here's more on the UAW withdrawing at Foxwoods.

Dayton, Ohio: As part of its “Eat Local” promotion, Dorothy Lane Market has launched a monthly local food “challenge” and gift card giveaway.
Read more of this story

Politics and What not...

John Tasini comments on SEIU's "Call Centers"

New York State's excise tax on cigarettes becomes the highest in the nation today, when it increases by $1.25 a pack - to $2.75....City Smokers Prepare for New State Tax

The Republican presence in the City Council could be whittled down to two members as voters go to the polls today in Queens to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Council Member Dennis Gallagher

Starrett City residents were assured their rents would stay 'affordable' yesterday

Tuesday Morning One Liners...

John Fegan, the well-known senior vice president of pharmacy at Ahold USA here, will leave the company next week to become vice president of pharmacy at Winn-Dixie Stores, Jacksonville, Fla.
Read more of this story

NEW YORK — A number of prominent supermarket chains are participating in an American Express an in-store promotion revealed last week that enables shoppers to receive a free Spring Fling Card worth $25 from American Express Incentive Services when they purchase two American Express Gift Cards of any value

Safeway tries downsizing to better fit local needs [Los Angeles Times]
Safeway Stores Inc. jumped into the fray when it quietly opened a 15,000-square-foot store named the Market by Vons in Long Beach on Thursday as part of a test to see whether California shoppers like smaller neighborhood stores.

Safeway responds to Tesco challenge [Financial Times]
Tesco, the UK supermarket group, is eyeing a first direct response from a US competitor to the arrival in the US of its Fresh & Easy markets, with the opening this week by Safeway of a new similarly-sized small grocery store.

Bashas' announced it will cease home delivery of groceries after May 31 as "part of our plan to streamline our operations due to the current economic turndown."
Read more of this story

UFCW Canada takes ban on Ontario farm unions back to court

Whole Foods Market, the largest US natural-foods grocer, dropped the most in more than 18 months after second-quarter profit fell more than analysts estimated and sales growth slowed.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc is now hiring store managers to work at Marketside, new smaller format stores the world's largest retailer is preparing to open in Arizona.

Policy

Need for more Supermarkets: Key Food Fight

Gristedes Will Reopen [Brooklyn Paper]

AM New York writes: Living in the city on under 40K a year.

The Times Online: Soaring food prices have led to a growing number of middle-class New Yorkers joining an unusual organisation that “dumpster dives” in rubbish bins for food

With Food prices plumping like a frank on a grill, their biggest one-month surge in 18 years, according to Labor Department statistics released yesterday.

City plans on adding 63 more inspectors to enforce construction safety.

Political

The New York Times writes on Anthony Weiner's Mayoral bid.

One of State Senator John Sabini’s longtime Hispanic supporters, Assemblyman Jose Peralta, is signaling that he may be ready to support Sabini’s likely challenger, City Councilman Hiram Monserrate.

Adam Clayton Powell, IV is going forward with his public advocate bid.

Fossella is 'ending re-election bid'

And the N.A.A.C.P. chose Benjamin T. Jealous, 35, an activist and former news executive, as its new president on Saturday, making him the youngest leader in the organization’s 99-year history.

Wednesday Morning One Liners...

Grocery

Newsday writes on rising costs businesses are facing, focusing on Pathmark and other LI Supermarkets.

Plans call for Fairway to open other four stores in the metropolitan area and hire 2,000 employees. There also are plans to enhance Fairway's private-label business.

Wal-Mart Stores on Tuesday reported quarterly earnings that slightly exceeded analyst estimates, but cited a tough economy while providing a cautious outlook for the second quarter.
Read more of this story

A meat packing plant in the midst of an UFCW organizing campaign has been raided by I.C.E., resulting in the arrests of hundreds.

Responding to Wal-Mart Stores’ expansion of its generic drug program to include 90-day supplies for $10, the Kroger Co. said yesterday it would match the offer in all of its banners.
Read more of this story

Whole Foods Market here said yesterday it expects to complete its rebranding of Wild Oats by the end of the fiscal year, though it will spend another couple of years completing remodeling activity at some locations.
Read more of this story

The North American organic coffee market reached $1 billion in 2007, according to Daniele Giovannucci, author of the North American Organic Coffee Industry Survey.
Read more of this story

A&P’s Food Basics banner will host its annual family festival from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday, May 24.
Read more of this story

Politcal

After a landslide victory in West Virginia, Hillary Clinton emailed supporters to say, “[T]he pundits declaring this race over have it all wrong."

Here's are article highlighting the racism Obama volunteers face on the campaign trail.

Obama added 2 more super delegates this morning.

Bush-appointee William Donaldson, Clinton-appointee Arthur Levitt and Reagan-appointee David Ruder plan to announce they're backing Obama Wednesday.

Why labor still rules in New York-and what that will mean this November This is the way things are in New York politics, and the way they have been for decades, though on the national level, few unions would ever consider backing the GOP for much of anything

Mayor Bloomberg has given public money to City Council members

Suffolk lawmakers pass worker status billThe Suffolk Legislature Tuesday passed its much-debated worker status bill, marking the end of a months-long debate over whether the county should require its 17,000 licensed contractors to verify their employees' immigration status.

ALBANY — Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg of New York is appealing to Gov. David A. Paterson and legislative leaders to hold firm against two bills that the city believes would cost as much as $300 million a year. The mayor made his case last week in separate letters to the governor, the Senate majority leader, Joseph L. Bruno, and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.One bill would allow members of District Council 37, an umbrella group of New York City municipal unions, to retroactively buy into an early retirement plan that was offered in 1995, giving city workers a second chance to retire at 55. Read the entire story here

City Council member Darlene Mealy insists her sister's nonprofit group hasn't received a dime from taxpayers - but it wasn't for lack of trying.

Developments

Whole Foods announced in its quarterly report today that it will be opening a store in Closter, NJ. That will be closer to many Rocklanders than the current Edgewater or White Plains locations. Read the story here

The Hudson Yards deal has been declared dead.

Policy

A White House official yesterday told Reuters that high global food prices will likely be a persistent problem for the next two to three years, as the world replenishes depleted stores of grains and soybeans.
Read more of this story

Arguing that the 2007 Farm Bill is still too generous with federal subsidies to large commercial farmers, Grocery Manufacturers Association CEO Cal Dooley is urging lawmakers to oppose the Food and Energy Security Act of 2008, which is linked to the Farm Bill.
Read more of this story

More...NY Post writes on the Farm Bill from Hell.

Supermarket News covers Local 1500 Building Blocks Project

NYC Union Launches Supermarket Advocacy Campaign

NEW YORK — The United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1500 on Tuesday applauded a recent study by the city’s planning commission showing detrimental public health and economic effects of a lack of supermarkets in certain city neighborhoods and unveiled a 14-point statement of policy suggestions designed to assist communities gain greater access to food stores. The policy suggestions encourage the preservation and development of supermarkets in low-income communities by making economic incentives available to food retailers to build and operate stores, and to discourage supermarkets from being evicted. The local is based in Queen’s Village in the borough of Queens.

Local 1500 Campaign featured in Supermarket News

In the March 24th issue of Supermarket News, Local 1500's campaign to bring more Supermarkets to the five boroughs was highlighted. Click on the image to read the piece.