Strike wreaks havoc on Stop & Shop

Newport Avenue's Stop & Shop in Quincy was strangely quiet on Tuesday morning, with the chilling of refrigeration and the chatter of product advertisements on the intercom, part of the only signs of life in this nearly empty store. The shelves of deli meats and meats were dark, their almost bare counters and display of banana products was sterile.

At the Roslindale store, crates of bakeries and the bar serving hot food were empty, kale and mustard greens were unobtainable, and the only open lanes were self-serve. The Hyde Park store has been locked since the start of the strike on Thursday, according to picket workers, while one of Nantucket's two Stop & Shops is also closed.

The strike of nearly 31,000 unionized Stop & Shop, nearly a week old, is clearly having an impact, with the union saying at least several dozens of 240 stores in three states are closed and that many buyers stay away from those who are still open.

"In almost 30 years, we have not seen a strike that is as effective and devastating as this one," said Burt P. Flickinger III, Managing Director of Strategic Resource Group, a retail-based consulting firm that evaluates strikes in grocery stores for three decades.

This assessment includes the six-week boycott of Market Basket stores in 2014, provoked by employees who quit work to protest the dismissal of the company's chairman during a family dispute over control of the chain. The Stop & Shop strike is keeping buyers away from wealthy communities, Flickinger said, which is not always the case.

Stop & Shop would not give details on closures and supplies, noting only that "the majority of stores are open" and that there "have been some delays" on deliveries. On Monday, Stop & Shop sent a letter to customers of President Mark McGowan stating that deli, seafood, bakery and customer service counters are not operational, that meat selection is limited and that service stations are closed. The hours are also limited to 8 am to 8 pm.

"We appreciate your understanding and are working tirelessly to get things back on track," McGowan said in his letter.

In the shops, the shortages are obvious. The meat and products quickly disappear from the shelves and are not replaced, as the Teamsters union truckers refuse to cross the picket line. Workers prevent other trucks from making deliveries.

Workers at Stop & Shops in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut, represented by the United Food and Commercial Workers, emerged from a stalemate in contract negotiations. As in most modern labor disputes, the stalemate is largely due to rising health care costs. The company offered workers to pay more for their insurance, noting that Stop & Shop would still cover 92% of family coverage premiums, a much larger share than that paid by other major retailers.

The increase in weekly health care costs for employees would remain below the national average, the company said. Stop & Shop has also proposed to limit the coverage of spouses who can obtain health insurance from their own employer.

Stop & Shop has also announced higher salary increases and higher pension contributions for current workers. The average hourly wage is $ 21.30, according to Stop & Shop, with clerks averaging $ 15.90, while other employees work on average between $ 18 and $ 20.

But the union called the shop's proposals "smoke and mirrors" that would hurt current employees and new employees. The company's proposal would cost a full-time employee $ 893 in additional weekly premiums on health care, the union said, which would reduce the retirement benefits of many part-time and new hired employees, eliminate the spousal health insurance plan of 1,000 employees and would eliminate time. – and a half pay on Sundays and holidays for new part-time employees.

Negotiations between the union and the company are ongoing.

The strike attracts the attention of politicians and the public. Former Vice President Joe Biden will speak at a rally in Dorchester Thursday to support striking workers, the union said.

Social media helped the union spread the message, with consumers posting photos of other grocery store receipts and detailing the money spent at Walmart, Wegmans and elsewhere. According to a Brandwatch analysis, the 10 most popular hashtags on Stop & Shop, include #UnionStrong (10.2 million impressions or views), #StopDontShop (3.5 million) and #BoycottStopAndShop (1.2 million), suggest widespread support for workers. a British social media monitoring company.

At Roslindale Stop & Shop, picketers claimed to have prevented several trucks from making deliveries.

"We say [customers] since Wednesday, there is nothing fresh, "said Larry Farnsworth, meat manager, employee of Stop & Shop for 20 years.

Flickinger noted that consumers are quickly creating new habits and that grocery stores have narrow margins. If only 5% of Stop & Shop's customers do not come back after the strike, this could have major financial implications for the company, he said. And if the strike lasts until this weekend, Stop & Shop could lose even more with customers buying for the Easter holidays or Pesach.

Tuesday morning, there were few cars in front of the Newport Avenue store and three striking women urged those driving by the road not to cross the picket line. Some customers were stuck in what workers have dubbed the "shameful corner", where they think they are not seen.

It is not a lot to ask customers to shop elsewhere during the strike, given the sacrifices made by the workers, the striking workers said.

"We are here during snowstorms and weekends," said Leanne Noonan, a 35-year-old Stop & Shop veteran who oversees the records. "We have abandoned holidays with our family."

Denise Bausemer, also a 35-year-old veteran, who runs the store's cash, said the Quincy store, normally open 24 hours a day, makes between $ 1.3 and $ 1.5 million in sales a week , and around $ 1.7 million during Easter week. .

Despite their arguments, a client went to them to pick up fruit. "I feel bad about doing that," said the woman, who would only give her name, Barbara, saying she was stopping there because she did not want to be late for work.

A few minutes later, she was back empty-handed.

"I felt like a fool," she said. Plus: "All the shelves were empty."

Katie Johnston can be contacted at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @ktkjohnston.