Original post by UFCW International
Local 400 member Kimberly Curtis poses for a photo to show her support for New England Stop & Shop workers. See more “solidarity selfies” on Facebook.
On April 20, the hard-working men and women of Stop & Shop in New England ratified a new contract with their employer by an overwhelming majority. The contract covers 35,000 union members represented by UFCW Locals 328, 371, 919, 1445 and 1459.
The new contracts secure wage increases for all the men and women whose hard work has made Stop & Shop a successful and profitable company. In addition, the new contracts will help new full-time employees earn a family-supporting wage of $15 an hour more quickly. By negotiating together, the five local unions were able to secure a commitment from the company to increase the total number of full-time jobs by 480 over the next three years.
This contract demonstrates the ways that union members work in collaboration with management to solve problems in the workplace. This contract establishes the first Labor-Management Committees at Stop & Shop, giving employees and management a forum to come together to make Stop & Shop a better place to work and shop. The men and women of Stop & Shop were also able to work with the company to design a new scheduling system that will ensure working families have their schedules two weeks in advance.
The New England Council of the UFCW made the following statement after the contracts were ratified by membership:
“The UFCW has a long history of working in partnership with Stop & Shop to ensure that people who work hard in these stores can earn better wages and a better life. Today, by standing together, our members ratified a contract that will continue that tradition.
“This contract is a powerful measure of what our union family can truly achieve when hard-working men and women come together and stand together. This is also a victory for Stop & Shop customers, whose support throughout our negotiations sent a powerful message that they value employers and companies who treat their employees and their families right.
“Over these many long days and weeks, as we have worked hard to negotiate a better life for our members and their families, our New England bargaining committee has drawn real strength from the support of their customers, their communities, and our entire UFCW family who have stood with us. We will never forget what you have done for us, and we look forward to seeing you in our stores with an even bigger smile.”