Tuesday Morning One Liners...

D'Agostino is debuting a new logo (left).





Wal-Mart: Unemployment up, so let's outsource more jobs to India!

Wal-Mart's shareholder meeting unveiled that the company has been overwhelmingly profiting throughout this recession.

Wal-Mart's shareholder voting results.

Whole Foods Market stores in Manhattan this week are offering to take shoppers home for free — via rickshaw.

Delaware introduces 'Beer and Wine at the Grocery Store' Bill.

Safeway and United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7 here agreed last week to extend their current contract through June 26 as negotiations continue over wages, health care and pensions, according to the local.

Meanwhile, UFCW workers for King Soopers Inc. will vote in the Denver area Monday and Colorado Springs on Tuesday on the supermarket chain's latest contract offer

The UFCW filed a $450,000 claim in the bankruptcy case of Bruno's Supermarkets LLC, saying that its investment banking adviser made a "substantial contribution" to securing a buyer for 31 of the grocery chain's stores.

More on "Hand Scanners"

Wal-Mart's Hispanic themed store "Mas Club" will debut in Houston on July 2nd.

Wal-Mart, Tesco, both not seeing results from small store formats...

G.O.P. Regains Control of New York State Senate

The Democrats' tenuous control of the New York State Senate abruptly collapsed on Monday, throwing the Legislature into chaos with just two weeks remaining in its session. Two dissident Democrats, who had been secretly strategizing with Republicans for weeks, bucked their party's leaders and joined with 30 Republican senators to form what they said would be a bipartisan power-sharing deal. But the arrangement effectively re-establishes Republican control. The change upends the agenda in Albany, where Democrats had assumed power in the Senate in January, with 32 seats, after more than 40 years in the minority. Democrats were pushing bills to give tenants more rights, strengthen abortion rights and legalize same-sex marriage this session.

Monday Morning One Liners...

Image via Wikipedia

A campaign to organize Wal-Mart in Minnesota is picking up steam...

Wal-Mart also announced that the weak economy has slowed the expansion of 'Marketside', their small-store format banner.

PriceChopper opens a 'Green' store.

King Kullen amongst several businesses that will hire Veterans.

The working class has learned Governor Ritter (Colorado) is no friend to the working class.

Safeway and grocery employees agreed Thursday to extend their work contract until June 26.

Whole Foods Market said last week that Lady Moon Farms and Alderman Farms are the first Florida tomato growers to sign agreements with the natural food retailer in support of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers' (CIW) "penny-per-pound" program, which is designed to boost tomato harvesters’ pay. Both farms are long-term partners of Whole Foods.

And the jobless rate jumped to 9.4%.

Rudy Giuliani joined Sarah Palin for a Yankees game.

Is Palin running for president?

Just a reminder Local 1500's General Membership meeting is this Wednesday, you can RSVP on Facebook.

Scan It! updates, Price Chopper sues a competitor and builds a Green store, Friday Morning One Liners...

What's up with the King Kullen in South Hampton development?

Here's another piece and video on 'ScanIt' the new supermarket technology that allows customers to scan their products.

Price Chopper is suing Giant Food Markets for $20 million for allegedly stealing trade secrets... According to a complaint filed in New York State Supreme Court here, a surveillance tape caught a former salesman for the beverage distribution company AL George LLC entering an "employees only" bottle supply closet at a Price Chopper in Binghamton, N.Y., and stealing ad fliers that were planned for distribution the following week. He then passed them on to his immediate superior in the store's parking lot, who in turn gave the fliers to August O. Kutchinski, director of operations for Giant Markets of Binghamton, the lawsuit alleges.

Price Chopper is also debuting a prototype "Green Supermarket"

Supermarket News picked up the bagger story here.

Wegmans Food Markets is encouraging shoppers to support "One Stop Shop N.J.," a proposal to let more supermarkets sell beer and wine.

Aldi is opening a new Georgia warehouse.

Sales were down at Costco, Target, and BJ's in May.

Read more about the Food Safety Enchancement act of 2009

Keep Wal-Mart out of NYC.

More on the Colorado UFCW Local's fight with their Governor. Governor Ritter, also plans on vetoing another union bill, one that would enable fire-fighters to unionize.

Politics

Carolyn McCarthy said she won’t run against Kirsten Gillibrand, citing personal reasons

Steve Israel is 'open' to backing Gillibrand's opponent.

Andrew Cuomo's editorial in Newsday.

The NY Assembly votes to legalize mixed martial arts (MMA) in NY.

Recycling water bottles put on hold, UFCW merge in Ohio, Non-Union supermarkets not paying baggers, Wednesday Morning One Liners...

Image by quaisi via Flickr

Peapod has introduced a line of six ready-to-heat, healthy prepared meals by celebrity Chicago chef Michael Foley. Exclusive to the e-grocer, the restaurant-quality entrees are available for

delivery in the Chicago market under the Peapod’s Chef Express Smart Selections brand.

The New York State Department of Labor announced a major settlement with supermarkets (non-union) that were not paying their baggers an hourly wage.

Newsday: The future of the Supermarket: Hand Scanners.

NY Times Dining section says goodbye to Balducci's and Hello Gourmet Garage.

More on the Ohio UFCW merger.

IGA opened a store in Guam last week.

This week the National Association of Chain Drug Stores sent a letter to Congressional leaders asking for pro-patient, pro-pharmacy provisions in healthcare reform.

The Illinois Food Marketing Task Force is calling on lawmakers to create a new “Illinois Fresh Food Fund” initiative to stimulate supermarket development in underserved areas across the state while simultaneously improving health in low-income communities and attracting significant private investment and jobs

A new Stop & Shop in Orangeberg...

Politics

The expansion on NY State's recycling laws has been halted by a federal judge, putting a stop to recycling water bottles, which the state anticipated to receive millions of dollars from to aid the budget.

Environmentalists are upset that a court has delayed the state's bottle deposit law.

New York City is the safest of the 25 largest cities in the United States.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg and city labor officials announced a tentative agreement Tuesday to amend health benefits for more than 550,000 current and retired city employees, guaranteeing the city $400 million in savings over the next two fiscal years.

The Governor of Colorado has turned his back on UFCW members.

AmazonFresh stays in Seattle, Pathmark hosts a Sylvia dinner, June One Liners,...

Image via CrunchBase

AmazonFresh, a food delivery system that is only available in Seattle through Amazon.com, will halt any expansion plans and only remain in Seattle for the time being.

Pathmark will host 'Sylvia's Soul Tour', events aimed at raising money for the American Cancer Society. First dinner takes place at the Harlem store on June 5 from 3-7PM

UFCW Local's 21 and 44 have merged and will now be apart of UFCW 21.

Ohio's UFCW announces a government relations director.

Wal-Mart Stores has agreed to establish a “rigorous” price inspection and monitoring system in Arizona to ensure the state’s consumers have access to accurate and clearly posted prices, the policy comes out of a lawsuit filed in July 2006 when Wal0Mart had failed 526 pricing inspections out of 976 conducted by Arizona's Department of Weights and Measures.

Connecticut could ban the sale of plastic baby bottles, food containers and cups containing Bisphenol-A, following the approval of the ban in the Connecticut Senate...BPA, is used to harden plastic and make it shatterproof, also used to line the insides of food containers, is widely considered by scientists to be a serious health threat.

Wal-Mart workers in St.Paul are rallying to organize on Thursday.

There's talk of reppealing a big box ban in California.

In Colorado King Soopers union employees were at work without a contract Monday after their previous deal expired Sunday.

Politics

There are two bills moving through NYS Legislature that would eliminate some difficult hurdles for public employee unions to strike.

Here's some info on the "Farmworker Fair Practice Act" which would provide such benefits as, collective bargining rights for farm laborers, a minimum rest guarentee, and an overtime rate.

Sarah Palin will be honored in Long Island this week.

Andrew Cuomo won't challenge Governor Patterson.

Anthony Weiner endorses Bill Thompson for Mayor of NYC.