Workers ratify contract, 597-4At 9 a.m. this morning at the Holyoke Holiday Inn, over 600 workers from Western Massachusetts’ 16 Stop & Shop stores turned out to vote 597 to 4 in favor of accepting a new 3 year contract with Stop & Shop supermarkets. The United Food & Commercial Worker (UFCW), Local 1459 in Springfield, MA, negotiated the contract jointly with 4 other UFCW locals unions representing a total of 43,000 Stop & Shop workers throughout New England. Members from the four other locals are expected to ratify the contract today as well.

The settlement came after weeks of intense negotiations. But with the threat of an imminent strike in the final days, the unions were able to wrangle major last-minute concessions on health and pension benefit packages and achieved gains in hourly compensation from the company. Scott L. Macey, President of UFCW Local 1459, states, “We’re very satisfied with the outcome of these negotiations. Stop & Shop tried to play hard ball with us. But our members stood strong and so instead of losing significant benefits, we came out on top.”

More stories and details will be posted to this website later tonight and tomorrow.