President
There is a call to action happening for unionized workers. Companies have seen fit to want to take away
your hard-earned and hard-fought benefits.
Whether it be wage increases, holidays, or pensions, everything you are
entitled to under your CBA is under attack.
The question is “WHY?” Why would
a company reward its employees by taking things away from them?
Look at Clare Rose…the employees on strike are members of
Teamsters Local 812. Why would Union
members take such a drastic measure? If
you ask the employees it’s because the company is trying to reduce their wages
by 30%, among other things. If you go to Clare Rose’s own website they state
that they are looking to do away with the pension that their employees are
currently depending on for their retirement.
The company’s reasoning for their proposal package is that all of their
competitors have a separate driver and salesperson model that they are now also
looking to follow, so they can remain competitive. A couple of paragraphs later the company
states “As the region’s largest beer distributor, we have a significant
economic impact,..”
So why would the region’s largest and most successful anything be looking to model themselves
after their own competitors? You tell
me.
Clare Rose says “we respect our employees’ rights under federal
labor law to conduct a strike” –Not if you replace them with temporary workers
which enable you to easily keep your employees out on the street!
Let’s bring it home—Why would a wealthy supermarket owner go
on to sell his flagship store for $46 million AND look to take away Sunday time
and one half from his employees? Why
would the same owner who, IN ADDITION, just got his share of $48 million from
the Key Food Cooperative’s owners’ bonus structure--look to do away with the
pension of the very same people who have worked to build his company since even
before he was born? You tell me.
We have been embroiled in this contract fight with Pick
Quick Key Food and will not rest until it is settled, giving its employees/our
members the respect and dignity they deserve.
ShopRite boasts on their website an annual sales number of
$14.7 Billion. So why are they looking
to take away Sunday time and one-half for most of their employees? Why are they not seeking to give anyone at
minimum wage an increase? Why do large companies like these look to make their
working men and women absorb the cost of doing business in a competitive
market?
As with all of the companies that we represent, Stop &
Shop is a great place to do your grocery shopping. However, If history has taught us anything
it’s to be prepared for the worst with Stop & Shop. They routinely look to take as much as
possible out of your contracts and we expect the same this year. If you work for Stop & Shop, then you
must have seen the technology that they are installing in your store, doing
away with registers and thus cashiers and baggers. Couple that with the perpetual budget crunch
they have everyone working under and it seems pretty clear that they are
looking to operate with as few employees as possible.
They only way we can fight off corporate greed is to band
together and stand strong. We will be
calling on members from different companies to support each other. It’s time to build on our strength and
unity. You’ve heard me say before that
their fight is your fight. This year is
evidence of that statement. We must show
companies that especially now we are more determined than ever to keep what
we’ve already earned, and achieve more!
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