Strike looms for Stop & Shop employees

NORTH CANAAN — Contract negotiations have led again to the threat of a strike by employees of the Stop & Shop supermarket chain.

The contract between Dutch conglomerate Royal Ahold and about 40,000 employees at 240 stores in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island expired at midnight Feb. 20. Union members voted Sunday to authorize a strike and a one-week work extension.

According to information distributed by the union, Stop & Shop is asking workers to contribute to health insurance premiums and pensions. They have also resisted raising standard wage rates, asking employees to accept bonuses instead.

It is basically the same situation as three years ago, when protracted negotiations, mainly over the insurance contributions, brought one missed deadline after another. In the end, workers stayed on the job and maintained their free health benefits. The company got greater restrictions on who would qualify for benefits.

Back then, workers at the North Canaan Stop & Shop said they did not want to strike and felt distanced from the issues. Current employees mostly say the same.

In 2007, Stop & Shop was blaming a decrease in profits for the need to negotiate better labor terms. With profits on the upswing, the unions are crying “foul.�

Should the week pass without the two sides coming to an agreement, workers could authorize another extension or walk off that job. A strike could be organized as soon as March 2.

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