UFCW Local 400 Praises Ervin for Leadership
ROCKVILLE, Md., October 11 — Calling it an innovative solution to the threat big box stores pose to the quality of life and living standards in Montgomery County, retail and grocery workers represented by United Food & Commercial Workers Local 400 announced their strong support for County Council President Valerie Ervin’s Big Box Community Empowerment Bill.
Councilmember Valerie Ervin.
“Valerie Ervin has shown great leadership and courage in introducing the Big Box Community Empowerment Bill,” said UFCW Local 400 President Tom McNutt. “She is taking a bold step to empower county residents to protect their neighborhoods, preserve their quality of life, and maintain their living standards, rather than let them watch helplessly as big box stores devastate their communities.
“Thanks to Council President Ervin, Montgomery County communities would be able to negotiate on a level playing field with big box stores and developers to address any and all issues that concern them, from traffic and workers’ wages and benefits, to the health of small businesses and the environment,” McNutt said. “This is exactly the kind of step every local government — including the District of Columbia — ought to take for the sake of their workers, residents and neighborhoods.
“Our members living in Montgomery County are mobilizing for a full-court press to urge the Council to pass and County Executive Leggett to sign the Big Box Community Empowerment Bill,” McNutt said. “This will ensure that the only big box stores allowed to open in Montgomery County will be those that improve — not damage — the local economy and quality of life.”
McNutt also praised Council Members Hans Reimer (At-Large), Craig Rice (2nd) and Nancy Navarro (4th) for co-sponsoring the Ervin bill.
The Big Box Community Empowerment Bill requires that any store larger than 75,000 square feet must negotiate a legally-binding community benefits agreement with neighborhood residents and community stakeholders before it is permitted to open.
UFCW Local 400 represents 40,000 members in Montgomery County and elsewhere in Maryland, the District of Columbia, Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee working in the retail food, health care, retail, food processing, service and other industries.
