Dear Mr. Alvarez,

I am writing to express my concern over the direction and tone of the Stop & Shop labor negotiations in New England. The five New England local unions are deeply concerned about issues that are important not only to their members, but to the communities where they live and work. These same issues impact our members, our communities, and UFCW members and their communities nationwide.

Stop & Shop’s insistence on premium co-pays for health insurance by our members while failing to address the long waiting periods for eligibility is a dead-end tactic. To further complicate things at the bargaining table, you propose store cutbacks and then run ads to employ replacement workers at rates higher than what many of our members currently earn, highlighting the emerging disregard for loyal hard working Stop & Shop employees.

We all want to see a successful conclusion to this round of bargaining without any disruption for our members or Stop & Shop. But rest assured that this local union stands united with our sister New England locals and will take whatever action is necessary in that support.

Signed,