Employees enter day 3 of strike
MILFORD — At the Bridgeport Avenue Stop & Shop, a man stood by the lot entrance with a sign that read, “No gas.”
With company employees on strike for the third day, customers hoping to fill their tanks at the supermarket’s station would have to look elsewhere.
Stop & Shop locations in Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island are closed or partially operating as workers hold their picket lines to protest cuts stipulated in the company’s contract proposal.
As passing drivers honked their horns in support of employees, spirits seemed high. Coffee supplies stood near the picket lines at Milford’s two store locations, an indication that customers were behind the strikers.
Employee Jia Khan said customers have not been going inside to shop, but
have instead brought boxes of coffee to the employees. “The customer support is such an awesome feeling that I just sat down and cried,” Khan said.
In her 15 years with the company, Khan said, she has never been on strike — until now.
“The support is great from the customers,” said another employee, who asked not to be identified because the union has asked workers not to share information.
At around midday, the employee said he had seen fewer than 10 people enter
“The customer support is such an awesome feeling that I just sat down and cried.”
Stop & Shop employee Jia Khan
the store since 6 a.m. Even those customers may have only stopped by to use the pharmacy or bank located inside the store, he said.
“We love our job — you know, we just want a fair deal,” Khan said.
Workers walked out Thursday to oppose the company’s contract offer, which would raise health care premiums, cut pension benefits and increase wages by less than two percent for many part-time workers, according to a release from the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union.
“The proposed cuts by Stop & Shop, whose parent company earned $2 billion in profits in 2018, would devastate health care benefits, significantly increase health care costs, and decrease take home pay,” the release stated.
In response to the strike, Stop & Shop has posted updates on its website, providing information on the company’s offer as of Friday.
According to the company’s post, the current offer would involve just a small increase in premiums, keeping them below the national average. It would also maintain “existing, vested pension benefits” and increase “company pension fund contributions.”
It is unclear whether Stop & Shop has amended its offer since strike began.
In a message dated April 12, Mark McGowan, president of the company’s New England division, urged local unions to resume negotiations. “Our team is standing by and remains ready to continue negotiations anytime. We hope that the UFCW local unions return to the table to reach a fair and responsible contract now.”
McGowan went on to endorse the current offer.
“Importantly, the offer also maintains a responsible balance in rewarding our associates, protecting jobs and serving our customers in a dramatically changing, mostly nonunion environment,” the message said.
The New Haven Democratic Town Committee, however, sent a letter to the Stop & Shop New York Metro Division on Friday to express its support for the striking employees, emphasizing that the workers deserve “affordable health care, a living wage, and a better security for retirement.”
“We vow today to never cross their picket line, but instead to show up in droves for them with water, food, and unending support for their just and dignified cause. We urge you to negotiate immediately for a fair contract, and offer these workers the quality, access, and advancement they deserve for the hard work they provide everyday for our communities,” the letter said.