By STEVE ADAMS
The Patriot Ledger

QUINCY - Stop & Shop Supermarket Co. employees in eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island will vote next weekend on whether to go on strike or accept proposals aimed at reducing the company’s health care and retirement plan costs.

Quincy-based Stop & Shop, which is owned by Dutch conglomerate Royal Ahold, is trying to cut costs to offset stagnant sales figures amid rampant competition in the grocery industry.

A three-year contract for five union locals employing about 40,000 Stop & Shop workers in New England expires on Feb. 17. The five locals are negotiating as a group with Stop & Shop on a new contract.

If they are unable to reach an agreement, a strike could begin at midnight on Feb. 18.

Stop & Shop hopes to reach an agreement with the unions in additional talks scheduled in the coming week, company spokeswoman Faith Weiner said. But it is placing ads in local newspapers for replacement workers this weekend as a contingency plan, Weiner said.

Springfield-based Local 1459, Westport, Conn.-based Local 371 and Local 919 in Farmington, Conn. voted earlier this month to authorize a strike. The three units represent some 18,000 Stop & Shop employees in Connecticut and western Massachusetts.

Two locals representing about 22,000 store employees in eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island plan to vote on Feb. 17 whether to strike.

Stop & Shop wants the union to accept a switch from a defined benefit pension plan to an employee-funded 401(k) plan for new hires, said Mark Govoni, political director for United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1445 in Dedham. The union represents about 10,000 Stop & Shop employees at 62 stores from Boston to Worcester.

 

Management also wants employees to contribute to health-care premiums, which are currently paid entirely by the company. The company estimates its average monthly cost is $690 for full-timers and $180 for part-timers, Govoni said.

Weiner said the company’s management believes that a ‘‘modest contribution by associates to their health care plan is appropriate.’’ The 401(k) plan would not affect existing employees’ pensions, and would include an employer contribution, she said.

Negotiations took a turn for the worse on Thursday when management told union representatives that the company plans to make its floral and seafood sections self-service, which could result in the transfer of employees to other departments, Govoni said.

‘‘There were some very bad vibes at the end of (Thursday’s) meeting, to say the very least,’’ Govoni said.

Weiner said the changes to the seafood and floral sections are not subject to negotiations, and specifics are still being worked out. Stop & Shop will continue to carry fresh seafood, she said.

Shop stewards from each store will brief employees on the negotiations during the coming week, Govoni said. The union and Stop & Shop have up to four more bargaining sessions scheduled before next Sunday’s strike votes.

UFCW Local 328 of Providence, which represents about 12,000 Stop & Shop employees at 70 stores in Norfolk and Bristol counties, Cape Cod and Rhode Island, is not commenting on the negotiations at this time, Secretary-Treasurer James Riley said.

Stop & Shop has been under continuing pressure from Royal Ahold to cut costs as non-unionized competitors such as Wal-Mart and discount clubs gain market share.

Ahold put the management of Giant Food, a Maryland-based grocery chain with nearly 190 stores, under the corporate umbrella of Stop & Shop in 2004. About 650 Giant corporate employees lost their jobs and 200 others were transferred to work at Stop & Shop’s Quincy headquarters and at offices in Braintree.

This year the company has begun expanding its private-label brands and adding more self-checkouts in stores.

During 2006, sales at Stop & Shop and Giant rose 0.6 percent to $16.4 billion. But sales at stores open at least a year, a key measure of a retailer’s performance, fell 0.8 percent at Stop & Shop and 1.2 percent at Giant.

Steve Adams may be reached at sadams@ledger.com

Copyright 2007 The Patriot Ledger
Transmitted Saturday, February 10, 2007