Senator Blumenthal (on right)

‘Stronger Together’ is more than a slogan for Stop & Shop workers in New England. In an unprecedented display of solidarity, 35,000 Stop & Shop workers in New England, represented by five UFCW locals, have come together to strengthen their position at the bargaining table. Bargaining committees from UFCW Locals 328, 371, 919, 1445 and 1459 have stayed at the table for two months fighting for a fair deal for the hard-working men and women that make the company successful.

Local unions are holding joint actions in the stores to educate customers and build support for protecting good jobs at Stop & Shop. While the company draws out the bargaining process, members are building a contract campaign into a movement that has brought customers, workers, community leaders, union members, and even four U.S. Senators into the fight for good jobs in the grocery industry.

Over the past two weeks, the five New England locals have held rallies across the region, drawing out hundreds of workers and supporters to call on Stop & Shop to provide a fair deal and a better life for its employees. More than 20 UFCW locals gathered for the kick-off rally in Braintree, Mass., a few miles from the company’s headquarters.

“As a former member of UFCW and of the original Stop and Shop family, I stand, in solidarity, to support the rights of the worker’s to the good pay and good benefits they deserve,” said Deb Goldberg, treasurer of Massachusetts, whose family founded Stop & Shop in 1892.

The crowd that turned out for a rally in Quincy, Mass., tripled organizers’ expectations, as workers brought family members and customers and community members joined in to call on Stop & Shop to provide a fair deal and better life for its employees.

The following day, neither a rain storm nor Boston’s famous St. Patrick’s Day celebrations could keep supporters away from a rally in Dorchester. Hundreds turned out to make their voices heard on the same day that the company returned to the bargaining table to resume negotiations. When workers were asked to take their rally off of store property, the Boston Police helped close down a lane of traffic to make room for crowds that overflowed the sidewalk.

U.S. Senator Edward J. Markey put the coordinated effort of the New England Stop & Shop workers to stand strong for a fair contract in perspective: “As the income gap in our country continues to grow and the middle class gets hollowed out, it is imperative that our labor unions take this fight to every negotiation where the potential for economic injustice is a real possibility.”

U.S. Senators Christopher Murphy and Richard Blumenthal joined hundreds of Connecticut Stop & Shop workers and community supporters at rallies in Norwalk and East Hartford, while Senator Elizabeth Warren sent a letter of support to Massachusetts workers who held a final rally in Holyoke.

“When I started working here, Stop & Shop was my path to the American Dream – a house, a future for my family. But with the company’s current proposals, that dream will be out of reach for my coworkers,” said Barbara Begley, who has worked for Stop & Shop for 33 years. “We take great pride in the work we do to serve our customers and communities. Stop & Shop should do what is right and accept a fair deal.”

Supported by their customers, the hard-working men and women at Stop & Shop are standing together and calling on the company to stop its threatened cuts to benefits, offer fair wages, and do what is right for the community.

After her store closed last year, Kroger transferred Felecia, who has worked as a cashier at Kroger for 18 years, to a Kroger store two hours away from where she lives, despite the fact that Felecia had applied for a transfer to a Kroger Marketplace store just minutes from her home. Kroger repaid Felecia for nearly two decades of loyalty by giving her a dismal choice: either work at the store two hours away, or be left jobless.

Two weeks ago, things got even worse for Felecia. According to her doctors, the stress and physical difficulty of the “insane” commute led to Felecia having a stroke on the bus on her long way to work.

To put a stop to this unfair situation, Local 400 created a petition that demands Kroger let Felecia transfer stores immediately. Felecia’s coworkers and supporters gathered more than 330 signatures to support her.  Felecia, who must currently use a wheel-chair following her stroke, delivered the petition to store managers at last week’s rally, which drew many supporters who agreed that, with a Kroger Marketplace within eyesight and walking distance of her home, there’s no excuse for forcing Felecia to continue working two hours away. She was joined by several coworkers, union representatives, elected officials and community leaders, including Senator L. Louise Lucas, (18th District), Delegate Steve Heretick (79th District), and James Boyd, President of the NAACP Portsmouth Branch.

“They’re discriminating against her in effect because she’s a union member,” explained Delegate Heretick.

Addressing the crowd, Senator Lucas said “this is the kind of effort we all like to stand in agreement with.”

However, the store manager immediately threatened to call the police.

Every TV news outlet in the area, as well as the main local newspaper, came out to interview Felecia.

“I live right around the street from Kroger, ten minutes away,” Felecia explained to News Channel 3. “Now how come I have to go all the way to Virginia Beach, which takes me two hours, to a job that I have worked for for almost 18 years? I mean, it’s just not fair.”

“I have to take three buses and a light rail just to get to work,” explained Felecia.

Local 400 is urging people to continue to pressure the company to do the right thing, by calling them at their Portsmouth location at (757) 215-4205, and telling the manager to honor Felecia’s request and immediately transfer her to the Kroger Marketplace in Portsmouth with all the benefits and protections of her union contract intact.