Stores mostly empty as strike goes on
Temporary workers placed in some Stop & Shop stores “Stop & Shop has to come to the table with a fair contract. We’re willing to fight as long as it takes.”
NEW HAVEN — Tired, scared, angry and determined.
Those four words summed up the feelings of striking Stop & Shop workers outside the Amity store Sunday morning.
It was day four of the job action and workers said rumors abounded as they stood out in an increasingly warm day, worried about putting food on their tables, paying rent and taking care of their families.
But the workers also said they are continuing to draw support from the community and are determined to stay on the picket line as talks continue between Stop & Shop and United Food and Commercial Workers Local 371, which represents workers in much of Connecticut. They said they had heard the two sides were “at the table.”
“We’re getting stronger as the days go on,” said Emily Sabo, a business representative with United Food and Commercial Workers Local 919. “The community support is awesome. The workers have united together more than ever.”
Stop & Shop locations in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island are closed or partially operating as workers hold the picket lines to protest cuts stipulated in the company’s contract proposal.
“I’m tired, I’m exhausted,” said Ruth Cherry, a longtime Stop & Shop worker who was with a group of other union members Sunday morning. “But we’re sticking together.”
Cherry, however, noted that she and so many others are “ready to go back to work” when the impasse with the grocery giant ends.
Workers said they had learned some temporary workers were in stores, but they were not sure how many.
Roberto Bonaparte, general manager of the Amity store, said the location would be open until 8 p.m. Sunday, with limited service. Bonaparte said he was not at liberty to comment on whether temporary workers were hired.
However, Jennifer Brogan, a spokeswoman for Stop & Shop, said, about temporary workers, “This has been a part of our contingency plans since the beginning. That said, this is a fluid situation and we are moving and adding resources based on need and availability.”
When asked if there are stores that will be getting temporary workers/corporate personnel for the first time on Sunday, she said: “I can only say it varies by store, but that we have both temporary replacement workers and corporate personnel working in our stores across New England in an effort to minimize disruptions for our customers.”
Juliette Sabo, shop steward for Local 919, in Fairfield, and a 38-year Stop & Shop worker, said the union had gotten word that temporary workers would be brought in and were trying to dissuade the workers from going in to the stores.
Union members are “Pleading with them to make the right choice,” Sabo said.
“We’re doing our best to fight (them) off,” she said. “There are few.”
Juliette Sabo said she made a cardboard “Marty” to simulate the robot Stop & Shop has in some of its stores, and it had drawn positive reactions as she drove around with it.
“The union members are pumped up,” Sabo said. “We are not backing down.”
Workers at the Amity store said at least two people who went into that location identified themselves as temporary workers.
Workers said they love their jobs, enjoy working with the public and also are worried about the amount of food that might be wasted as “use by” dates pass for perishables.
The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union has said the workers are concerned the offer to them would raise health care premiums, cut pension benefits and increase wages by less than two percent for many part-time workers.
“I’d like to protect my pension, we want to keep what we have,” said a worker at the Stop & Shop, who identified herself as Debbie.
Michelle, who also was outside the Amity location, said “This is our job, this is our family, we just want support from the community.”
U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said in a release that he would meet with Stop & Shop workers in Simsbury who are striking to “demand that Stop & Shop provide affordable healthcare and fair compensation.”
Emily Sabo said the union hopes the strike ends soon, so workers can get back to their jobs.
“But in order to do that, Stop & Shop has to come to the table with a fair contract,” she said. “We’re willing to fight as long as it takes.”
In its most recent release, posted Saturday on its website, Stop & Shop said: “The UFCW local unions and Stop & Shop continued negotiations today on new contracts for Stop & Shop’s 31,000 associates in New England. Discussions are scheduled to resume on Sunday morning (April 14).”
“We will continue to provide updates as this situation develops.”