Thomas Breen File Photo
State Treasurer Russell: "Prolonged labor conflict could lead to substantial backlash" against Stop & Shop.
A Stop & Shop contract fight in Massachusetts could have spillover effects in New Haven.
That doesn’t mean New Haven workers will be going on strike, but they could be standing in solidarity with striking Teamsters.
That’s the latest in a brewing regional labor dispute centered on a Stop & Shop distribution center in Freetown, Mass. A union that represents grocery workers across Connecticut plans to encourage its members to stand alongside Teamsters if they go on strike.
Stop & Shop, a regional grocery store owned by a Dutch parent company, is in ongoing negotiations with Teamsters Local 25 in Massachusetts over a new union contract.
Stop & Shop has proposed cuts to the local’s healthcare benefits, and has threatened to close down the Freetown distribution center if the company and union don’t reach a deal. The Teamsters local has countered that its 900 members will go on strike, as early as Friday, if Stop & Shop doesn’t back off its cuts-or-closure plan.
“Stop & Shop’s stores remain open and ready to serve our customers, and we do not anticipate any disruptions to our store operations,” Stop & Shop spokesperson Stephanie Cunha told the Independent. She called on Teamsters Local 25 to work with the company to “achieve the labor savings needed” to keep the Freetown distribution center open. She said the company believes those savings can be achieved “by transitioning to a more competitive health plan, while still offering our associates 25 percent wage increases over a five-year period and maintaining their pension benefits.”
If a new contract isn’t ratified by Friday, she said, “Stop & Shop will move forward with an outsourcing agreement and close the facility at a later date in June to allow ample time for the transition to a third-party distributor.”
Teamsters union leaders responded by slamming Stop & Shop’s negotiating tactics as “blatant union busting.”
“The Teamsters unequivocally condemn Stop & Shop‘s threats to subcontract work and close the Freetown, Mass., distribution center unless hardworking Teamsters give up their union health care plan,” Teamsters Warehouse Division Director Tom Erickson and Local 25 President Thomas G. Mari are quoted as saying in comments provided to the Independent.
“Ahold Delhaize — the Dutch-Belgian parent company of Stop & Shop — raked in nearly $94 billion in sales last year, but its greedy, morally bankrupt executives are demanding sacrifices from the very workers who made that success possible. If Stop & Shop continues down this path, threatening the livelihoods of more than 900 Teamsters, we will take action. We will extend picket lines to every Stop & Shop store in New England and bring the full force of our union to this fight.”
What does this have to do with New Haven’s two Stop & Shops, on Whalley Avenue and Amity Road?
Mark Espinosa, the president of United Food and Commercial Worker’s (UFCW) Union Local 919, told the Independent that 30,000 unionized Stop & Shop workers across New England — including at the New Haven grocery stores — have a contract of their own that goes through February 2026.
He stressed that UFCW union members will not be going on strike.
However, they are prepared to stand in solidarity with the Massachusetts Teamsters local.
Per UFCW’s own contract with Stop & Shop, he said, “our members are not compelled to cross a picket line” formed by a different Stop & Shop union on strike. They can’t be punished if they choose not to work in solidarity with striking workers.
“I would encourage my members to support any action in front of a store” if the Teamsters go on strike, he said. He said he can’t require his workers to honor a potential Teamsters picket line. But he’ll urge them to do so if the Teamsters strike does happen on Friday.
After all, he said, “when we had our strike [in 2019], the Teamsters were great.” They didn’t bring product to Stop & Shop stores — which UFCW had closed down for over a week with their own strike.
“We want to support our brothers and sisters in the cause,” Espinosa said. “I can’t force my members to not work. I can tell my members their job is safe” if they do support the Teamsters’ strike.
Meanwhile, Connecticut State Treasurer (and New Havener) Erick Russell has waded into the debate with a letter that he and the state treasurers from Massachusetts and Rhode Island sent to the heads of Stop & Shop’s parent company on Feb. 21, urging the grocery store conglomerate to work more closely with the Teamsters to avoid a strike.
“Reports that Stop & Shop has proposed eliminating union health coverage and is threatening to shift warehousing operations out of Massachusetts if workers do not accept these terms raise serious concerns about the long-term stability of the company and its relationship with employees, customers, and the communities it serves,” Russell and his Massachusetts and Rhode Island counterparts wrote. “A strike impacting over 900 Teamsters, as well as potentially 30,000 UFCW members throughout New England, would have far-reaching operational and economic consequences.”
They continued by warning that this labor dispute could hurt Stop & Shop’s reputation with customers. “Today’s consumers are increasingly attuned to how companies treat their workforce, and widespread media attention on a prolonged labor conflict could lead to substantial backlash, negatively impacting both short-term sales and long-term market position.”
They urged Stop & Shop’s parent company, Ahold Delhaize, to “engage in good-faith negotiations that prioritize both its workforce and its long-term corporate value. A resolution that ensures fair wages, benefits, and working conditions will not only protect your employees but will also safeguard Stop & Shop’s reputation and long-term success in our states.”
Sam Gurwitt file photo
On the picket line in 2019.