Joe Biden To Join Workers At Dorchester Stop & Shop Rally

BOSTON — Former vice president and potential presidential candidate Joe Biden will rally with Stop & Shop workers on strike in Boston Thursday, he announced on social media. Last week presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren joined the strike in Somerville.

This comes after more than 30,000 union Stop & Shop workers walked off their jobs on April 11 to protest the company’s proposed cuts to health care, take home pay and customer service during contract negotiations.

"This is wrong. I stand with the 31,000 @UFCW workers fighting for their healthcare," Biden tweeted.

The union invited the former Vice President Joe Biden and Boston Mayor Marty Walsh to join them - UFCW Locals 328, 371, 919, 1445, and 1459 - at a rally in support of these workers and their fight for a better life at the South Bay Stop & Shop in Dorchester.

"Given that negotiations with assistance of the federal mediators are continuing, we are disappointed that the UFCW chose to order a work stoppage in an attempt to disrupt service at our stores," Stop & Shop said in a statement. "Stop & Shop has contingency plans in place to minimize disruption."

The walkouts affected 134 stores in Massachusetts, 92 in Connecticut and 27 in Rhode Island. A Stop & Shop spokesperson said in an email Friday the "majority" of its stores in Massachusetts will remain open. Banks and pharmacies will also be open even if the supermarket is closed; however, all gas stations are closed, including Brookline's.

The strike is similar to that of a 2014 walkout by Market Basket workers who protested successfully against the ouster of CEO Arthur T. Demoulas, who vowed to protect wages and benefits.

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