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AFL-CIO, CLC Pathmark Bankruptcy Update Pages 4 & 5 | Local 1500 raises over $125,000 for Charity Page 6 | Labor Day Parade Page 7 | Shop Steward Seminar Pages 8 & 9 FR Happy OM LOCAL Holidays! 1500 2 The Register December 2015 The Register 3 THE PRESIDENT’S PERSPECTIVE JUST FOR THE RECORD By Bruce W. Both By Anthony G. Speelman, Secretary-Treasurer @Aspeel1500 New York’sLocal Grocery Workers’1500 Union STATE OF THE UNION OUR NEW UNION 2015 presented many challenges to us. The relied on its convenience and size for its popu- On-demand shopping habits through the digital As I mentioned in my September column, For the many workers at Pathmark stores heads about, what’s next? They immediately A&P bankruptcy obviously overshadows them all. larity. It’s been the place where you can find 10 age have molded our society’s workforce into on- 2015 year was an enormous test for our entire that were bought by other employers, you contacted our Union’s Organizing Department. The bankruptcy comes at a time where the tradi- different types of pasta or five different brands of demand workers. union. It feels like years ago that we negotiat- know that wasn’t the case for every transition Just as our department was there for the eight tional grocery store’s future is very much in doubt. peanut butter. Two-income families are prevalent across ed eight new excellent contracts in the early agreement. Some new store owners wouldn’t Mrs. Green’s workers when they were fired ille- Companies are now merging in order to com- You’ll find that peanut butter in the aisle, America, therefore there aren’t as many stay at months of 2015. The new contracts provide guarantee jobs, and when they did, most said gally and left out in the cold last year, they were pete in the enormously difficult business, which not because of its popularity, but because the home parents shopping during the day. This a better life for over half of the 22,500 hard they’d only hire at reduced rate! This is the for these new workers with no clear future. is dominated by competition from Walmart, CVS company usually has paid the supermarket to leads to busy families who are hurrying after work working men and women in our union. battle we have fought tirelessly over the last and drugstores, and specialty stores like Whole put it there. According to the Washington Post, to the store so they can easily throw together Which brings me to why it’s even more six months and will continue to fight in the Foods and Trader Joes. stores like Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s work a meal. During the week, people don’t want to After negotiating the new contracts with important that our entire union knows this. future. Securing jobs, benefits, pensions and Earlier this year Ahold (Stop & Shop, Giant, on a different model: relentlessly present only wander through aisles of endless pantry items; eight different companies, A&P (the parent We need to organize new shops. Best Yet has better lives for all Local 1500 members is our Martin’s) announced a completed merger agree- what you think the customer wants. Trader Joe’s, they increasingly want prepared foods and other company of Pathmark) filed for bankruptcy purchased four of our Pathmark stores, and six number one goal. ment with Delhaize (Hannaford, Food Lion), a for instance, is especially brutal in its decisions quick options. and announced it would be closing its stores. other former A&P stores. Some of our former direct competitor. According to Supermarket about what to put on its shelf space. If the prod- The success of Uber is made off the backs of The A&P bankruptcy has affected tens of thou- We are working on getting new jobs for members are now working throughout the News, the merger, val- the thousands of on-de- sands of lives, displaced thousands of hard our Pathmark members at stores that were chain based on an agreement we fought for in working men and women, and now that the not bought. We initiated a Pathmark Bench, bankruptcy court, which required every store ued at $29 billion, would Will There Be Fewer Grocery Stores in 2018? mand workers across result in some 2,000 U.S. the world. We must last Pathmark store has closed, its changed a rolling detailed list of members affected by to hire at least 25% of former A&P employees. stores and 6,500 stores react before our industry the entire landscape of our union. In January the bankruptcy who are looking for a new job. This gives us an excellent opportunity to orga- worldwide, with sales of becomes ‘on-demand’ of 2015, 27% of our members worked at Stop I’m pleased to say we placed over 100 of our nize a union at these stores. more than $44 billion and loses the benefits, & Shop. As it sits today after Pathmark stores members in new jobs. In a few cases we were Every hard-working person has earned the and 375,000 employees. rights and securities were sold off in the bankruptcy, over 40% of able to help people get new jobs at stores that right to better wages, better benefits, and a Last year, Safeway we’ve earned. our union will now bargain under the Stop & were not Union. That may turn some faces of better life. We need to bring this message to and supermarket chain Start-ups like Shop contract. readers out there, but let me make myself clear: all the men and women working at Best Yet. I Albertsons merged cre- Instacart and compa- Our union members are our partners and our believe we can. ating a network of 2,230 nies like AmazonFresh “ In January of 2015, 27% of our family. We will help one another in any way With your support and partnership, we have stores, 27 distribution are revolutionizing the members worked at Stop & Shop. possible during times of need. helped thousands of men and women who facilities and 19 man- way grocery shopping is As it sits today after Pathmark In contrast, I encourage you to read the would be without a job and benefits keep their story on page 11 about Mrs. Green’s Natural ufacturing plants with done. Customer habits stores were sold off in the jobs or transition to a new one. That’s especially Market, which suddenly closed its Hartsdale over 250,000 employees have changed, and bankruptcy, over 40% of our important during this time of year. I thank you across 34 states and the shopping through store. You can clearly see the difference for your support, and as always encourage you District of Columbia. your smartphone or union will now bargain under between having a union as your partner and to contact me for anything you need (message Earlier in November, computer is hard to say the Stop & Shop contract.” being alone. The company gave no warning to or tweet me on twitter @aspeel1500 or call me another major merger was announced between uct doesn’t sell well enough, it’s rotated out for for me, but a norm. its employees, in fact some employees heard 516-214-1305). Roundy’s and Kroger. Together Kroger and something else. Technology is creating an at-will contracted The bankruptcy has displaced many men about the closing through an email. The work- Have a wonderful holiday season, Roundy’s will operate 2,774 supermarkets and This competitive model has contributed to a workforce. The problem when everyone is an and women, however it has also created many ers at the store had no information and no one employ over 422,000 associates across 35 states major loss in market share. Over the past decade, independent contractor is there is no unity, no new opportunities for our members who to turn to. Hundreds of questions arose in their and god bless you all! and the District of Columbia. Following closing, supermarkets have lost about 15 percent of partnership. It’s impossible to attain any benefits, worked for the unreliable, greedy, A&P corpo- Roundy’s will continue to operate its stores as a their market share to other retailers, according security, steadiness in pay and most of all sched- ration. Because of the work of our entire union, subsidiary of The Kroger Co. and will continue to Phil Lempert, an editor at Supermarket News. uling. How can we expect to support our families over 2,000 of our members have continued to be led by key members of Roundy’s senior Drug stores like CVS & Rite-Aid pop up on every in this Uberfication of the grocery industry? their careers, kept their benefits, and continued management team. The company announced block throughout our neighborhoods. Walmart We can’t. That’s why we can never stop their pension contributions with Stop & Shop, there are no plans to close stores, and promised & Target have opened stores with fresh produce fighting for the better life that all Americans have Key Food, ShopRite and Food Town. In addition “associates will have employment opportunities and dry goods, while CVS has stocked its aisles earned with their hard work. we also gained more than 700 new members with both companies”. with eggs and ice cream. The continued expan- The greatness of America is evident when through Key Food, ShopRite and King Kullen That’s three new “super” chains, employing sion of Wal-Mart, which has more than one-third hard work is rewarded, and every family has the purchases of former A&P stores.