A tentative deal was reached Sunday between Stop & Shop and thousands of striking workers.
Here’s a look at statements from each side.
Statement from the United Food and Commercial Workers:
Today, the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) announced that a tentative agreement was reached on a new contract for the 31,000 Stop Shop workers who walked off their jobs on April 11 to protest the company’s proposed cuts to health care, take-home pay, and other benefits. The five UFCW Local Unions (328, 371, 1445, 1459, and 919) released the following statement in response to the deal:
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“We are incredibly grateful to our customers and everyone who proudly stood together with us every day for a contract that invests in the communities we serve, and makes Stop Shop a better place to work and a better place to shop.
“Under this proposed contract, our members will be able to focus on continuing to help customers in our communities enjoy the best shopping experience possible and to keep Stop Shop the number one grocery store in New England. The agreement preserves health care and retirement benefits, provides wage increases, and maintains time-and-a-half pay on Sunday for current members.
“Today is a powerful victory for the 31,000 hardworking men and women of Stop Shop who courageously stood up to fight for what all New Englanders want – good jobs, affordable health care, a better wage, and to be treated right by the company they made a success.”
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Statement from Stop & Shop company officials:
We are very pleased to announce Stop & Shop has reached fair new tentative agreements with UFCW Locals 328, 371, 919, 1445 and 1459, which represent our 31,000 associates in Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island. We’re also glad to have our associates return to work as the strike has ended.
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The tentative three-year agreements, which are subject to ratification votes by members of each of the union locals, include:
• Increased pay for all associates;
• Continued excellent health coverage for eligible associates; and
• Ongoing defined benefit pension benefits for all eligible associates.
Our associates’ top priority will be restocking our stores so we can return to taking care of our customers and communities and providing them with the service they deserve. We deeply appreciate the patience and understanding of our customers during this time, and we look forward to welcoming them back to Stop & Shop.