Weeks End News Briefs: Walmart in LA, A&P Bankruptcy & Whole Foods in Brooklyn

Here's a round up of the top News from this week: 

The A&P Bankruptcy judge has OK'd the company's Chapter 11 exit plan.  A&P also announced, Sam Martin will remain as CEO.

President Bruce Both of UFCW Local 1500 has released a statement on Sam Martin's salary and bonus during bankruptcy.

UFCW President Joe Hansen was on the Bill Press show discussing: Walmart, Presidential Primaries & the political attack on workers around the country. Check it out on the UFCW Blog!

A 52,000 square foot Pennsylvania Pathmark, set to close within two months, has four potential supermarket retailers vying for the site. Hopefully they're union employers.

The Southampton Press has an update on a new King Kullen in Southampton.

Trader Joe's has finally signed the Fair Food Agreement with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, agreeing to pay a penny more a pound for tomato pickers in Florida, which is speculated to be nearly a 50% increase in pay for farmers.

With Whole Foods on pace to open 27 new stores this year, on Tuesday they won approval to build their first store in Brooklyn at the Gowanus Canal.

Walmart is trying to open a neighborhood market in LA, a 33,000 square foot store would be the first 'neighborhood market' in LA, and is proposed to be opened below a multi-floor senior citizen apartment complex. The project is being met with opposition from small businesses throughout downtown LA. Check out more @HuffingtonPost.

Ahold (parent company of Stop & Shop) has bought the online retailer Bol.com for $470 million, in order to increase internet sales.

Ahold also had a huge fourth-quarter, announcing their fourth-quarter profit jumped 75% 

Britain's largest unions are threatening a strike during the Olympics.

American Rights at Work released a great report which reveals when employees come together, benefits go beyond the workplace.

In support of UFCW Local 5's negotiations, Local 5 members are dropping by stores asking consumers for support by signing pledge cards.

And finally if you hadn't heard, an over 15-year UFCW Local 1776 member and Diary Manager won a Grammy! Congratulations!

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 Mornin' News Briefs

Image via Wikipedia

"Right to Work" laws are for the 1%.

A&P to close 14 stores, here is their Press Release.  More @ Progressive Grocer, CityBizRealEstate,  ABC News, Supermarket News, Atlantic City Press.

A&P is accusing Stop & Shop of purposefully snarling its Chapter 11 bankruptcy case by making “illusory” claims of potential pension liabilities. From Supermarket News:

Ahold on behalf of its U.S. banners Giant-Landover and Stop & Shop has filed 216 separate proofs of claim for any increases in pension contributions that Giant and Stop & Shop may have to pay as a result of A&P’s withdrawal from multi-employer pension plans in which Giant and Stop & Shop participate.

The NLRB swears in three new members.

Epoch Times writes about the proposed new Walmart in East Patchogue, Long Island.  More at Newsday (subscription required) and at Patch.

Target Change: Target & Apple a match made in heaven. 

The UFCW Local 1500 Fairway in Douglaston, Queens, raised nearly $7k for the slain NYPD Detective, Peter Figoski's family.  In total, Fairway donated $20,000 to the scholarship fund.

"We have a long standing history of supporting those who serve New York City and when we saw the tragedy that happened, we felt we had to jump in and help out in any way that we could,” he said of the market’s decision to donate to the scholarship fund. “What’s unique about how we did this is that we involved our customers as well.”
Figoski, 47, who was the father of four daughters between the ages of 14 and 20 years, was killed when he and his partner showed up at the scene of an alleged drug robbery that was taking place in Brooklyn.

Republicans in Indiana, in what the AFL-CIO blog calls a 5-minute charade this morning, have pushed a "right to work" bill in an 8-5 vote.

Not only were Democrats barred from offering any amendments, no discussion of the bill was allowed and immediately after the vote, the hearing was adjourned. Rep. John Bartlett (D) told reporters that he’d “never seen a charade like this in my life.”

And Trader Joe's plans in Albany need minimal approval.

Monday Morning One Liners: More Assualts on Unions, Target Teams with Apple

Excellent Editorial in the New York Times: Continuing Assault on Unions focuses on the relentless, shameful attack by the Republican party on unions and workers' rights, in a time and economy when we need them most.

A proposed bill in New Jersey would allow NJ residents to get Jersey vineyard wines shipped right to their homes.

Alec Baldwin was dropped as the Wegman's earlier this week, then re-hired once customers were outraged.

The Nation highlights UFCW's campaign to Change Walmart.

Walmart is buying up more and more social media companies.

Last week Walmart was Blacklisted by one of the world's largest pension funds.  The reason? Poor labor practices and their anti-union/worker stances.  Sixteen other companies were blacklisted along with Walmart, nearly all of them excluded for producing chemical or nuclear weapons that violate the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.  Check out Lila Shapiro's piece in the Huffington Post:

Walmart typically shrugs off criticism of its labor practices as union-driven propaganda and insists that its employees are happy and well-managed, but investing experts say that when one of the largest pension funds in the world divests, the company would be wise to listen to the message. It's the same message the American labor movement has been pushing for decades.

Great article from Grist, looks at the dominance Walmart is gaining on our entire Food System and why we should be scared:

We had a leak in the cooler that didn't get fixed for a month and all this moldy food was going out on the floor." Walmart doesn't accept the idea that "a supermarket takes any skill to run," she said. "They treated the produce like any other kind of merchandise."

A&P announced the launch of plans to deploy a category optimization solution to "help enhance its merchandising strategy and improve the customer experience across its more than 300 northeast and Mid-Atlantic stores."

In Belleville, NJ, a Pathmark who was a community fixture for over 30 years, and fell victim to store closings, remains vacant over one year later.  Though the community remains hopeful.  

Hooray! (sarcasm) Apple mini-stores are coming to Target.  A perfect match for the employer who faces federal labor law charges (Target) and the company where they reward their employees in titles like Geniuses, and not pay, benefits or basic rights at work.  Looks e-harmony couldn't have matched these two any better.

Last week the National Labor Relations Board announced they would be adding more labor charges to the existing federal charges Target Corp. faces for allegedly violating the law in the weeks leading up to the union election in June, 2011.

Meanwhile Target reported increased December sales but missed expectations.

Number 8 on Brooklyn Papers top 12 to watch for in 2012 is a Brooklyn Walmart, Big Box store.

Workers at VPH Pharmacy, a Michigan-based distributor of pharmaceutical products, recently won the right to join UFCW Local 876!!

International President, Joe Hansen, appluaded President Obama's recess appointments.
“We applaud President Obama’s recent decision to fill vacant posts at the National Labor Relations Board and the Consumer Protection Financial Bureau and. These agencies play an important role in safeguarding the rights of workers and their families..."

In California, retailers are being fought on alcohol sales at self-checkouts.  Most retailers are complying says the SF Chronicle, but Fresh & Easy is struggling following the newly passed law.

Good Read: Paul Krugman in his latest piece for NY Times, "Unlevel Playing Field" says it's a fiction that GOP and Romney care about equal opportunity.

Uh-oh alert...Wall-Street employees are threatening to quit if their bonuses aren't enough.

Whole Foods is closing their Dallas Bake-house.

Trader Joe's is opening up in Albany, their first store in the capital region makes the Business Review ponder if  other retailers follow them.

via AFL-CIO Blog: The NFL Players Association (NFLPA) urged the Indiana state legislature to reject a so-called right to work bill. “As Indianapolis proudly prepares to host the Super Bowl,” says the union, “it should be a time to shine in the national spotlight and highlight the hardworking families that make Indiana run instead of launching political attacks on their basic rights.”

Last week, the awesome union employer, Fairway Market, not only does right by their employees but does great for their community.  Ten percent of all sales made during the seven-hour period at Fairway locations in Red Hook, Douglaston and Plainview goes straight to the fund created shortly after Officer Figoski was killed to help his four daughters attend college.  Check out the story @WPIX.  Great job, Fairway!

And just for fun, a man was arrested at a Walmart last week for trying to use a $1 million dollar bill.

Detroit's Food Deserts, Whole Foods Upper West Side, Friday Morning One Liners...

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Detroit launches 'Food Deserts Program'

Racked has a sneak peak at the Upper West Side Whole Foods, which opens today.

Report: Food Prices are likely to increase as the economy improves.

Trader Joe's was named "Breakaway Brand" of 2009.

Stop & Shop helps customers make ends meet with new value program.

Single-Payer Health Care advocates picket Whole Foods in NYC.

Whole Foods has a whole big problem with customers.

Toyota officials voted to close a unionized plant in California yesterday.

Patterson signed an anti-texting law yesterday.