EditorThe United Food & Commercial Workers is upset with Massachusetts-based grocer Stop & Shop for running ads for replacement workers if negotiations stall, according to the Journal Inquirer.
Although the recruitment of replacement workers in the event of a potential labor dispute is fairly common, as are union strike authorization votes a precursor to a labor dispute, in a negotiations update to its members, the UFCW stated that it will “respond accordingly.”
The 5 New England Locals have just been notified by Stop & Shop Negotiators that the Company will begin placing advertisements for temporary help, otherwise known as “scabs”. While we all know this is a typical reaction during each bargaining session, we are surprised at the company’s timing. It is our belief that taking this action is pre-mature, unnecessary and highly insulting.
The ads Stop & Shop ran appear similar to the ads the company ran three years ago.
Stop & Shop spokesman Philip Tracey told the Journal Inquirer that the ads “aren’t a reflection of the state of negotiations, adding that the chain has a long history of negotiating new contracts ‘without disruptions.'”
The ads are part of the company’s “standard contingency planning,” Tracey said.
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