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Giant Warehouse Workers Rally

Teamsters concerned about a potential closure of Giant Food's dry grocery warehouse in Jessup, Md., rallied at a Giant store, but their beef is really with supplier C&S Wholesale Grocers and not with Giant, the retailer here told SN.

Jon Springer, Executive Editor

March 16, 2011

1 Min Read
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JON SPRINGER

LANDOVER, Md. — Teamsters concerned about a potential closure of Giant Food's dry grocery warehouse in Jessup, Md., rallied at a Giant store this week, but their beef is really with supplier C&S Wholesale Grocers and not with Giant, the retailer here told SN.

Giant last year agreed to transfer its warehouse and its contract with Teamsters Local 730 to C&S, which has continued to operate the facility. Local 730 workers, concerned that C&S would move their work to a non-union facility in Pennsylvania, rallied at a Giant store in Greenbelt, Md., to protest the potential loss of jobs.

Giant in the meantime is negotiating with Local 730 on a new contract for its fresh grocery warehouse and with its truck drivers represented by Teamsters Local 639. Those agreements expire in May.

Giant acknowledged this week that it was "conducting a comprehensive business review, which includes exploring all of the company's options regarding the fresh warehouse and transportation businesses."

Al Rispoli, president of Teamsters Local 863 in New Jersey, attended the rally. Local 863 lost jobs recently as a result of C&S transferring A&P distribution from union facilities in Woodbridge, N.J. to Pennsylvania.

About the Author

Jon Springer

Executive Editor

Jon Springer is executive editor of Winsight Grocery Business with responsibility for leading its digital news team. Jon has more than 20 years of experience covering consumer business and retail in New York, including more than 14 years at the Retail/Financial desk at Supermarket News. His previous experience includes covering consumer markets for KPMG’s Insiders; the U.S. beverage industry for Beverage Spectrum; and he was a Senior Editor covering commercial real estate and retail for the International Council of Shopping Centers. Jon began his career as a sports reporter and features editor for the Cecil Whig, a daily newspaper in Elkton, Md. Jon is also the author of two books on baseball. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree in English-Journalism from the University of Delaware. He lives in Brooklyn, N.Y. with his family.

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