Schnucks again expands flex work program

Schnucks employees working at the grocer’s three locations in Columbia, Missouri, now have the option of choosing shifts and store locations that work best for their schedules through the company’s latest expansion of its Flexforce program, the grocer announced Monday. 

The three Columbia stores—two Schnucks Markets at 1400 Forum Blvd. and 5410 Clark Lane; and one Eatwell Market at 111 South Providence Road—will now allow workers who are 18 or older greater flexibility to select available shifts through the Schnucks scheduling app.  

The app also enables them to receive notifications when shifts become available, the grocer said.

“Flexforce teammates have answered key shift needs in stores since the program began in late 2022, and we are excited to now bring the option to our Columbia market,” said Schnucks Vice President of Store Operations Stacy Brandt in a statement. “The Flexforce employment option not only allows us to position our teammates for success—it helps us ensure we have the right people in the right place at the right time taking care of and serving our customers.” 

Employees who use the Flexforce program will receive the same benefits as those who do not, including an employee discount, the opportunity for career advancement, the option to receive pay immediately after a shift and the option to receive health benefits, Schnucks said.   

Schnucks expanded the availability of the Flexforce program in January. At that time, the option was available at more than 30 stores in Illinois, Indiana and Missouri. 

The St. Louis-based grocer, which runs 114 stores in Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin, is currently in contract negotiations with United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 88, which represents about 11% of the grocer’s roughly 12,000-employee workforce.  

There's no indication that expansion of the Flexforce program is part of the negotiations, but the union’s membership voted last week to reject the grocer’s contract offer and authorized the union’s leadership to call for a strike.  

UFCW Local 88 President Dan Telle said in a speech to members last week that the failure to reach an agreement on the contract is over “fair pay,” noting that meat, deli and seafood clerks, which make up the majority of Schnucks’ Local 88 members, earn $3.05 less than their counterparts represented by UFCW Local 655.