Tense MA Stop & Shop Negotiations Could Prompt Picket Lines Across New England

FREETOWN, MA — Teamsters Local 25 members were out in full force on a frigid Friday morning in protest of what they believe are unserious negotiations between Stop & Shop and workers at a local distribution center.

A unified chant rang out before the sun came up: "Together we win, divided we beg."

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.

"Stop & Shop is driving forward a multi-year strategy that includes efforts to lower prices and improve the in-store experience," a statement from the company said. "An important component of this is reducing overall costs — and that includes the high operational costs at our distribution facility in Freetown, MA. Stop & Shop solicited and received third party bids showing we could achieve millions in annual savings by transferring the work done at our Freetown distribution center to a third party. Because of our commitment to our union associates, we approached Teamsters Local 25 leadership with a request to identify only a fraction of that annual savings in our new contract."

The potential moves were termed "blatant union busting" and "threats to strip workers of their health care" by Tom Erickson, the Teamsters warehouse division director, and Thomas G. Mari, the president of Teamsters Local 25.

They continued, "The Teamsters unequivocally condemn Stop & Shop‘s threats to subcontract work and close the Freetown distribution center unless hardworking Teamsters give up their union health care plan. Ahold Delhaize — the Dutch-Belgian parent company of Stop & Shop — raked in nearly $94 billion in sales last year, but its greedy, morally bankrupt executives are demanding sacrifices from the very workers who made that success possible."

Stop & Shop officials said that, based on the analysis, the company thinks, "it's possible to achieve these labor savings while still offering significant wage increases and maintaining pension benefits."

They said the proposed health plan move would be "more competitive."

The plan, "is the same plan that management and other associates at the facility have," company officials said.

If a new contract that "reaches the labor savings needed" is not ratified by February 28th, Stop & Shop "will move forward with an outsourcing agreement and close the facility," they added.

Teamsters officials retorted by saying, "If Stop & Shop continues down this path, threatening the livelihoods of more than 900 Teamsters, we will take action. We will extend picket lines to every Stop & Shop store in New England and bring the full force of our union to this fight."

They continued, "The Teamsters will never let a foreign-owned corporation bully American workers into accepting substandard health care. Our members will not be intimidated. We will not back down."

Stop and Shop officials said the decision is not being taken lightly.

"We care deeply about our associates and maintaining our presence in Freetown," they said, "It is critical that the local collaborates with us on a new agreement that achieves the savings needed to do so."

Potential Ramifications Across New England

Teamsters officials said recently that picket lines could form in New England, Connecticut and Massachusetts as these negotiations play out.

Rhode Island Lt. Gov. Sabina Matos released a statement after learning about the potential picket lines there.

"The workers who do the actual labor of feeding our communities deserve their fair share of the enormous profits reaped by international chains. I stand with workers in Rhode Island and across the region in encouraging Ahold-Delhaize to return to the bargaining table and find an amicable solution that protects workers' health care," Matos said.

In Connecticut, Teamsters said picket lines could form at all 83 locations in the state, according to a Patch report.

A list of Stop & Shop locations found on the grocery chain's website are included below:

• Abington(1)
• Acton(1)
• Allston(1)
• Amesbury(1)
• Andover(1)
• Arlington(1)
• Attleboro(2)
• Bedford(1)
• Belchertown(1)
• Bellingham(1)
• Beverly(2)
• Boston(1)
• Braintree(1)
• Brookline(1)
• Chelmsford(1)
• Chicopee(1)
• Cohasset(1)
• Danvers(1)
• Dartmouth(1)
• Dedham(1)
• Dorchester(3)
• East Falmouth(1)
• East Longmeadow(1)
• East Wareham(1)
• Edgartown(2)
• Fairhaven(1)
• Fall River(2)
• Feeding Hills(1)
• Foxboro(1)
• Framingham(2)
• Franklin(1)
• Gloucester(1)
• Grafton(1)
• Greenfield(1)
• Hadley(1)
• Harwich(1)
• Hingham(1)
• Holyoke(2)
• Hudson(1)
• Hyannis(1)
• Hyde Park(1)
• Jamaica Plain(1)
• Kingston(1)
• Lexington(1)
• Lynn(1)
• Malden(1)
• Mansfield(1)
• Marstons Mills(1)
• Mashpee(1)
• Medford(1)
• Milford(1)
• Nantucket(2)
• Natick(1)
• New Bedford(2)
• North Adams(1)
• North Andover(1)
• North Attleboro(1)
• North Reading(1)
• Northampton(1)
• Norwell(1)
• Norwood(1)
• Orleans(1)
• Peabody(1)
• Pembroke(1)
• Pittsfield(2)
• Plainville(1)
• Plymouth(1)
• Provincetown(1)
• Quincy(2)
• Reading(1)
• Revere(2)
• Roslindale(1)
• Sandwich(2)
• Saugus(1)
• Seekonk(2)
• Somerset(1)
• Somerville(2)
• South Boston(1)
• South Dennis(1)
• South Yarmouth(2)
• Springfield(2)
• Stoneham(1)
• Stoughton(1)
• Sturbridge(1)
• Swampscott(1)
• Vineyard Haven(1)
• Walpole(1)
• Watertown(2)
• Wayland(1)
• West Springfield(1)
• Westborough(1)
• Westfield(1)
• Weymouth(1)
• Whitman(1)
• Winchester(1)
• Woburn(1)
• Worcester(2)