Customers are part of the scene again at the Edgartown Stop & Shop.
Mark Alan Lovewell

Stop & Shop Workers Back on the Job

<p>Stop &amp; Shop employees were back at work in Edgartown Monday morning as an 11-day strike came to an end. The Vineyard Haven store reopened Tuesday.

Stop & Shop employees were back at work in Edgartown Monday morning as an 11-day strike came to an end. The Vineyard Haven store reopened Tuesday.

Representatives from Stop & Shop and the United Food and Commercial Workers (UCFW) announced late Sunday that tentative agreements had been reached with five unions representing 31,000 workers in three New England states, including on the Vineyard.

Restocking shelves in Vineyard Haven store on Tuesday.
Holly Pretsky
Restocking shelves in Vineyard Haven store on Tuesday.
Holly Pretsky

The agreement is still pending ratification by union members. A spokesman for Local 328, the union that represents workers on the Vineyard, said a vote is set for April 29.

The strike, which began on April 11 with a sudden job walkoff, had shuttered a few stores and left others mostly empty, with few customers willing to cross the picket lines. Some delivery trucks also stayed away out of support for the striking workers. Throughout the strike, picketers had lined upper Main street in Edgartown and Water street in Vineyard Haven around the clock.

Wages, employee contributions to health benefits and automation were all issues, although when the tentative agreement was announced Sunday few details were released about the deal from either side.

Union spokesman Jessica Raimundo said specifics are not being released because union members have not yet ratified the contracts, but she confirmed that all employees would see a pay raise and would not be losing any health or retirement benefits. A union statement said time and a half pay for work on Sunday will also continue.

Meanwhile, at the Edgartown store Monday, the din of grocery cart wheels rolling on asphalt rang out in the parking lot. Inside, many produce and deli displays were still empty, but employees were busy cleaning and restocking. One wore a Union Strong pin on his cap.

Customer Albert Hutchinson of Oak Bluffs walked into the store and applauded and congratulated employees.

“I’m impressed by the process,” he said. “I went through there and I beat on the horn,” he said, referring to the striking picketers.

Other shoppers expressed similar sentiments of support for the employees and also relief that the strike had ended.

At the Vineyard Haven store the following day it was a similar scene, with employees wearing Union Strong pins and receiving congratulations from customers. Many shelves were still bare, but restocking was in progress.

Striking workers at the Edgartown Stop & Shop on Easter Sunday. The 11-day strike came to an end late in the day.
Mark Alan Lovewell
Striking workers at the Edgartown Stop & Shop on Easter Sunday. The 11-day strike came to an end late in the day.
Mark Alan Lovewell

Stop & Shop spokesman Jennifer Brogan said everyone was working to get things back to normal.

“We are working as quickly as possible,” she said.

Stop & Shop is owned by Ahold, a Dutch holding company that owns other U.S. grocery store chains.

Talks between the grocery chain and five local union branches began at the beginning of the year. The previous three-year contract expired Feb. 23. Union workers voted to authorize the strike in mid-March. Workers walked off the job on April 11 after talks broke down.

The five union branches that went on strike represent workers in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut. According to the Local 328 branch, based in Providence, R.I., there are 117 union workers at Martha’s Vineyard Stop & Shop stores.

A notice on the local union’s website said money would be on its way from the union’s strike fund to help compensate workers for lost wages.

Local 328 union president Tim Melia told the Gazette the last time the union authorized a strike was six years ago. Stop & Shop workers had not actually gone on strike in 30 years, he said.

In statements issued at around 6 p.m. on Easter Sunday, both sides declared victory.

“We are very pleased to announce Stop & Shop has reached fair new tentative agreements . . . in Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island,” Ms. Brogan said in a statement. “We’re also glad to have our associates return to work as the strike has ended.”

The union statement said: “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.”

Comments

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 04/22/2019 - 08:40

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R Scott Patterson Edgartown

Great, hope the workers got a fair deal. I'm glad I can go and get some food too!

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 04/23/2019 - 14:54

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Lorraine Edgartown

Compare the prices pre strike and post strike....somebody always has to pay....just sayin"....

Jackie MV

I did a price comparison of many items on Monday, the first day I could walk in the Edgartown store without crossing the picket line. I did not compare prices to pre-strike prices within S&S, but rather to prices of the same items selling at Cronig's. Guess who came out much more expensive? See the comparisons in the Facebook group, "MV Grocery Price Comparisons".

R Scott Patterson Edgartown

There is zero correlation between what Stop and Shop charges and what they pay their workers! Stop and Shop charges what the market will bear, plain and simple. Stop and Shop doesn't pay their workers higher wages in the summer but Stop and Shop raises prices, why is that you may ask? The summer people can bear higher prices thus Stop and Shop can raise prices.

Jackie MV

Since the middle of this month, I have seen prices go up at the other store on fresh produce, for example, on limes and avocados, to name just two jumps in prices. Is that because they were taking advantage of the strike and they were the only other big game in town? Or maybe it's because many visitors are here for Easter and Passover and the store is taking advantage of that? Or it's simply their yearly warmer weather increases in prices? Who knows? Stop and Shop does what it does and so other food sellers. Still, Stop and Shop is overall the lowest priced market on the island and that is the bottom line, the only line, for many. I'm glad there is a settlement and I will continue to shop at Stop and Shop for most of my groceries for the simple reason I don't like throwing away good money.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 04/25/2019 - 11:08

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Lorraine Edgartown

The latest figures I read are: The strike cost is estimated at right around 100 million. If anyone thinks the company will absorb this, please, disabuse yourselves of this notion.

R Scott Patterson Edgartown

So you think that Stop and Shop determines their prices by what they pay their employees? Thats rich and shows you don't know much about how things work. They charge what the market will bear. Company that owns Stop and Shop made 2 billion in profit last year, they made that profit by charging as much as they possibly could and by paying workers as little as possible. This year perhaps their profits will be down 100mil but that's because they underestimated the workers and those of us that refused to cross the line. They aren't going to raise prices any higher than they would have pre strike because they were already charging the highest prices they could get away with in this market.

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