Stop & Shop Strike Day 2: Some Stores Reopen

As Stop & Shop workers enter day two of the strike across Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut, union workers remain on the picket line and replacement workers have been brought in to reopen stores. At 1 p.m. on Thursday, union workers left their posts in protest of failed contract negotiations.

Even in stores where replacement workers have not been brought in, doors have been unlocked as Citizen's Bank branches opened as usual on Friday.

A spokesperson from Citizen's Bank said in a statement that all all in-store Stop & Shop branches will remain open throughout the strike. If customers are unable to access a branch or do not want to cross the picket line, the can call customer service 1-800-922-9999, their individual branch location or use the online branch locator to find a standalone location.

There are 27 Stop & Shop locations across Rhode Island. Of the 13 Patch reached out to, four confirmed that the store is open and the remaining nine did not answer their phone lines.

Stop & Shop employees are represented by United Food & Commercial Workers Locals 1445, 328, 371, 919 and 1459. Their contracts expired in February and negotiations have been unsuccessful since then.

Workers on the picket line on Thursday afternoon seemed shocked that the strike had actually happened.

"It's all pretty surreal," one worker said, adding that while contract negotiations have been "worse and worse" over the past years, the union and the company have always been able to reach an amicable compromise in the past.

Check out more Patch coverage of the strikes Brookline, Medford and Connecticut.

Read More:

• Stop & Shop Strike Detours 17 RIPTA Routes
• Rhode Island Stop & Shop Workers Go On Strike