It's Business As Usual At Connecticut Stop & Shops — For Now

EDITOR'S NOTE: As of Friday evening, stop & Shop and the Teamsters union reached a new collective bargaining agreement agreement. Click here for the full story.

Original story:

CONNECTICUT — A Stop & Shop is looking at a June closure for a Massachusetts distribution warehouse if an agreement is not met with the Teamsters union, which is threatening to strike at every store in Connecticut and region-wide if a stalemate over a new contract continues.

Friday was the deadline for Stop & Shop to reach an agreement with the Teamsters for workers at a distribution center. Shelves at Connecticut stores, however, were fully stocked and no action was to transpire, a spokesman for the supermarket chain said.

He said it was business as usual, and that certainly was the case at the Enfield and Vernon stores Friday morning and afternoon, respectively.

Stop & Shop spokesman Daniel Wolk sent Patch the following statement:

"Stop & Shop's Freetown distribution center will not close today. February 28th was the deadline set for reaching a deal with the Teamsters Local 25. If a deal is not reached, the distribution center would close at a later date in June to allow ample time for the transition to a third-party distributor. Stop & Shop's stores remain open and ready to serve our customers, and we do not anticipate any disruptions to our store operations."

The dispute centers around Teamsters members accusing Stop & Shop of pushing employees at a distribution center in Freetown, MA, to accept what the union considers a substandard health care plan. Stop & Shop officials are saying the company is trying to cut "high" operational costs at the center.

The teamsters this week were also posturing and said on social media that all five unions and about 30,000 workers in New England would join any picket lines if the center closed.