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Former Vice President Joe Biden will address striking workers at Stop & Shop Thursday in Dorchester, his office and the union announced.
The rally will take place at 2 pm at the South Bay Center in Dorchester.
Around 31,000 Stop & Shop workers have been on strike since Thursday. The grocery chain is the largest in New England and one of the last unionized stores in the industry.
The union leaders were opposed to the company's proposed contract change, which would cut wages, pensions and health insurance. The company has also downsized and relied more on automation, they said.
The president of Stop & Shop, Mark McGowan, defended the offer of the grocery chain to the union in a letter sent Monday to the customer, in which he also apologized for the inconvenience caused by the strike.
"Salaries, health care and retirement offers for all our employees … are among the best for New England store and supermarket associates," wrote McGowan. "This contract offer is no exception."
Experts expect Biden to enter the 2020 presidential race, where many national polls show him to be at the head of the democratic pack. His appearance in Boston will place him near the first and principal state of New Hampshire.
Biden will not be the first person related to the 2020 race to visit striking workers. Senator Elizabeth Warren joined the workers on a picket line outside a Stop & Shop store in Somerville on Friday.
Biden sent a tweet Friday in which he said "I'm with" the union.
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The material of the globe wires has been used in this report.
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