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April 28, 2020

Stop & Shop, union seek “first responder” status for workers

HBJ Photo | Joe Cooper Stop & Shop at 1380 Berlin Turnpike in Wethersfield.
By Joe Cooper

Stop & Shop and the union representing its workers are calling on federal and state governments to temporarily deem grocery store associates as “extended first responders” or “emergency personnel” to ensure they have access to testing, emergency childcare and other protections during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“For the sake of workers, their families, and our nation’s food supply, this action will provide grocery workers with the vital protections they deserve,” Stop & Shop and the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) said in a joint statement Monday.

The two sides are coming together just a year after unionized Stop & Shop workers in Connecticut accepted a new three-year labor contract that ended a bitter 11-day work stoppage on Easter Sunday.

UFCW for weeks has been urging Congress to provide paid leave and other essential protections for grocery and retail workers after leaders in Minnesota, Michigan and Vermont designated their states’ grocery workers as front line responders as they continue to work during the public health emergency.

Meantime, while Connecticut requires both essential workers and shoppers to wear face masks to limit the spread of COVID-19, many grocery stores, including Stop & Shop, are struggling with how to convince their customers to follow new safety mandates, including wearing masks.

“Make no mistake, Stop & Shop associates are essential workers and they deserve essential protections,” Stop & Shop President Gordon Reid and UFCW International President Marc Perrone said in a statement. 

Also Monday, Stop & Shop, which is owned by Netherlands-based food retail giant Ahold Delhaize, and UFCW announced that a 10% pay increase for hourly union workers would be extended through May 30. 

The additional pay for more than 70,000 Stop & Shop and Peapod employees in Connecticut and other states across the Northeast was originally announced on March 22, along with flexible hours for associates and up to two weeks of additional paid sick leave for associates required to quarantine by government authorities or by the company. 
 
“Stop & Shop and UFCW have worked together to provide these workers with benefits and protections during this health crisis, including emergency pay raises, additional paid sick leave, and access to KN95 masks and face shields, but even more can be done for these workers," Reid and Perrone said.

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