Stop & Shop Union Members In CT Authorize Strike

VERNON, CT — Stop and Shop supermarkets across the state and region braced for potential picket lines Thursday as one arm of a labor union endorsed a strike amid stalled contract negotiations.

On Wednesday night, the Westport-based United Food and Commercial Workers Local 371, which represents workers in a good chunk of Connecticut, endorsed a walkout. It has a membership of about 4,000. Union members also voted to reject Stop & Shop’s proposed contract.

Other local unions — Nos. 1459, 328 and 919 — are set to meet on Sunday to discuss a strike authorization, according to the union.

Union officials outlined the voting and potential strike on the Local 371 webpage.

Stores in Vernon and South Windsor showed no signs of picketing Thursday morning in the early part of the afternoon.

The strike authorization means that Stop & Shop employees can be called onto the the picket lines at any time, but a strike will not necessarily take place, according to the union.

The contract between Stop & Shop and five United Food and Commercial Workers local unions expired on Feb. 23. UFCW Local 1445 in Boston voted to authorize a strike the next day, according to the union and local 371 followed suit Wednesday in Cromwell.

"UFCW remains committed to working with Stop & Shop to achieve a new contract that honors the value and rewards the hard work of our members, which will in turn create the better shopping experience that Stop & Shop customers have come to expect," union officials said in a webpage statement.

More than 31,000 people are union members at Stop & Shops in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island belong to the UFCW.

Stop & Shop is a subsidiary of the Dutch conglomerate Ahold Delhaize.

According to an earnings report released in late February, Ahold Delhaize USA had net sales increase by 2.6 percent to $11.17 billion in the 2018 fourth quarter, compafred to $10.89 billion a year earlier.

Comparable-store stores grew 2.7 percent, excluding fuel.

Online sales were up 12.1 percenbt to $232 million, buoyed by same-day delivery via the Peapod online grocery service and the Hannaford To Go pickup service, according to the report. '

Full-year U.S. net sales were $44.17 billion, up 1.9 percent from $43.36 billion in 2017. The 2018 figure reflected a 10.3 percent gain in online sales to $886 million.

Operating income for Ahold Delhaize USA rose by 13.4 percent to $449 million for the 2018 fourth quarter and by 12.9 percenbt to $1.75 billion for the fiscal year.

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