ST. LOUIS, MO - Thousands of Schnucks employees were called upon to vote on Schnucks Markets’ recently-proposed contract, scheduled to meet at 7:00 p.m. EST Monday, Sept. 26.
The majority of workers for Local 655 voted "no" on the new three-year United Food and Commercial Workers International Union’s (UFCW) contract, which expired in May but has been extended on a day-to-day basis, and approved a strike, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
In order to strike, two-thirds of employees must vote against Schnucks’ proposal, after which the union would have to give five days notice before walking out. According to the report, 1,934 voted for the strike, about 89 percent of the 2,194 Schnucks Markets employees who are Local 655 members.
Total, almost 5,000 of the retailer's employees are union workers.
Union leaders told the news source that it does not plan to strike immediately, having stated prior to the vote that the ultimate goal is to get back to negotiating rather than to walk.
The union advised workers to vote against Schnucks’ offer, stating that the contract proposal is not acceptable to more than 4,500 employees that have helped the business achieve record revenues in recent years.
Schnuck Markets Chairman and CEO Todd Schnuck wrote to Post-Dispatch that the months of negotiations were “productive and respectful on both sides,” stating in an email last Friday, “This is why we were surprised and disappointed that union leadership suddenly kicked off a ‘vote no’ campaign well in advance of seeing the proposal on which our teammates will vote. The proposal, in fact, was just presented to the union yesterday.”
The company said in a letter sent to employees Thursday, Sept. 22, that the new contract proposes a cash bonus and increase in wages at “top pay rates,” as well as $600,000 in annual health and welfare contributions in the first year.
“In addition, we are proposing a 40 percent increase in pension contributions for current teammates. We believe the proposed contract offer is worthy of a ‘yes’ vote by our teammates,” Schnuck said.
The company's goal, it told the news source, is "to deliver a proposal that meets the needs of our teammates while keeping our business competitive against nonunion grocers and stores that sell food, and this includes some of the world's largest companies."
AndNowUKnow will continue to report on this developing story as more information is released.
