Stop And Shop Contract Agreement

BOSTON (F) — Workers at Stop & Shop supermarkets and company representatives reached a preliminary contractual agreement Sunday, according to press releases from both sides. The new deal, announced today by UFCW and Stop & Shop, includes: Stop & Shop undoubtedly has a lot of progress after losing between US$25 million and US$30 million in revenue and inventory during the strike, said Burt Flickinger, a food industry analyst at the New York-based strategic resources group. To get buyers back, the company will have to invest aggressively in advertising over the next few months, which could cost between an additional $US 25 million and $US, he said. The agreement must now be ratified by the unions. « We are very pleased to announce that we have entered into preliminary agreements with each of ufcw`s five local unions that represent our employees at the subsidiary in New England stores, » Stop & Shop said in a statement. « This is a turning point, » said Tom Juravich, a professor of labor studies at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, noting the economic impact of the strike on Stop & Shop, with 75 percent of loyal shoppers staying away, according to an analysis of mobile device location data, and the company would lose an estimated $2 million a day. « This type of leverage is unprecedented since the golden years of the car and steel. » But the union managed to retain a number of other proposals. And if the contract were approved, current workers would receive increases and the company would increase pension contributions for full-time workers and maintain its current contributions for part-time workers. This led the president of one of the five members of the union to proclaim a « great victory ». UFCW Locals 328, 371, 919, 1445 and 1459, representing 35,000 workers at Stop & Shop stores in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, said they would submit the contract to their members for approval next week. Neither the unions nor Stop & Shop have published the details of the contract.

The limited supply has impacted Passover shopping in New England, as Stop & Shop is the largest supermarket chain in the area and is deeply rooted in the local Jewish community. A number of rabbis in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island advised their communities not to picket to buy Jewish holiday utensils. A union representing about a third of Stop & Shop workers who went on strike this month voted Wednesday night to formally adopt the contract offer that ended the 11-day work stoppage. . . .