Stop & Shop workers threaten strikeStop & Shop workers threaten strike

All five United Food and Commercial Workers union locals representing Stop & Shop employees in New England have threatened to strike in solitarily with a Teamers local representing workers at a Stop & Shop warehouse.

Teamsters Local 25, which represents more than 900 warehouse workers and truck drivers at the retailer’s Freetown, Mass., distribution center, said Stop & Shop plans to close the facility and outsource the operations if workers do not agree to a new health care contract. According to local reports, Stop & Shop has threatened to shift distribution from the warehouse to non-union facilities in Connecticut and Maine.

A spokesperson for Stop & Shop could not be reached for comment.

Seeking to reduce operating costs

In a statement provided to a local ABC News station, Stop & Shop said it is seeking to reduce its operating costs at the Freetown location, and that it would “transition to a third-party distribution partner” and close the Freetown facility if it cannot reach a favorable contract agreement with the Teamsters. The statement also said Stop & Shop believed its goals of reducing costs could be achieved while still offering wage increases and increased pension contributions.

In a letter to Stop & Shop, which was signed by the presidents of all five UFCW locals, the union said it “stands in solidarity” with the Teamsters.

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“Make no mistake, if the Teamsters and their members decide to take a job action against Stop & Shop, the UFCW will stand arm in arm, and in lock step with our brothers and sisters and offer whatever assistance we can, up to and including honoring their picket lines,” the UFCW locals said in the letter, which the Teamsters posted on Facebook

The UFCW represents 30,000 Stop & Shop workers across New England.

In their own words: Seeking a “fair and amicable solution”

“We strongly encourage the company to get back to the table and settle this contract. It is our collective hope that both sides come together and work out a solution that is both amicable and fair to all parties involved.” —New England Council, United Food and Commercial Workers