Negotiations Resume With Stop & Shop

Tony Speelman, UFCW Local 1500

December 4, 2013: Contract Update 19- 

The Federal Mediator's request for both Stop & Shop and our Union enter into temporary seven-day“cooling off” period is over.  We're resuming negotiations today with Stop & Shop.

This is the month we draw a line in the sand.  Throughout the last three-months we negotiated in good faith and hoped that Stop & Shop would bargain responsibly.  Unfortunately they have not and we are still nowhere near an agreement, especially with Pension and Welfare issues.  Stop & Shop is still proposing to withdraw from our multi-employer pension plan, put significant healthcare costs on all full time members and eliminate all part time medical benefits.  

The next week will be the ultimate test for you and our union.  We will not continue to give Stop & Shop the sweat off our backs for the rest of the holiday season while they refuse to propose a contract you can live with.  I urge you to be patient, strong and motivated during this process.  Our union's solidarity, strength and commitment will often be tested by Stop & Shop’s management team.  Negotiations are scheduled for the remainder of this week and early next week.  Just know that we are fighting every second of the day to try and secure not just "any contract" but the best contract we can.

Thank you for the overwhelming support, communication and solidarity.  We are grateful to our loyal customers, our local politicians, members of our communities, and all of the other Union’s that have already pledged their support. During this time we all need to stick together.  You must try to avoid buying into any management rumors or attempts to undermine this process.  Any attempts to separate our union membership must be met with a unified response that we are all together.  We need to support one another now more than ever, so again, thank you, for your patience and trust while we stand together and fight for a fair contract from Stop & Shop. Everyone should know that the last thing we ever want to do is to create an economic hardship for any of our members, your communities or your loyal customers.  

Thank you again, 

Tony Speelman

Lead Negotiator, UFCW Local 1500

Emergency Stop & Shop Strike/Lockout Update Meeting: Sunday Nov. 24th

Stop & Shop Long Island Handbill for Distribution

Get up to date on the latest info from negotiations with Stop & Shop.

With Thanksgiving approaching, we need to come together and discuss Stop & Shop's greedy demands in their contract proposals, and our next actions.

There are two meetings on Sunday, November 24, 2013, both at 7 PM

Meeting A: Long Island
7 PM Long Island Marriott Hotel
101 James Doolittle Blvd. Uniondale NY

Meeting B: Upstate
7PM Mt. Kisco Holiday Inn
One Holiday Inn Drive, Mount Kisco, NY

Please attend and spread the word to your coworkers about this emergency meeting.

Contact us for any questions you may have.

Stop & Shop Upstate Handbill for Distribution

UFCW Releases Smart Phone App!

This week the UFCW International launched their first ever smart phone app!  To put it simple, it's  awesome and we recommend downloading it asap! 

Download the app from your smartphone at http://ufcwaction.org/app 

From UFCW's Blog:

The new UFCW app is designed to highlight worker voices and connect consumers to union grocery stores nationwide.

For consumers who wish to make informed choices about where they shop, the app is a major development that will support workers who are coming together to preserve good, family-supporting jobs in our communities.

This is all made possible by the app's "Shop Union" feature. Now, anyone in the United States or Canada can pull up driving directions to their nearest union store on their phone- with a push of a button.

The smartphone app will also allow users to be constantly connected with updates from union members, breaking news, and original video. Information about how to take action for working families is at the user's fingertips.