(St. Louis Public Radio) – Schnucks union employees approved a new contract Wednesday night, avoiding a potential strike.
The members of the UFCW Local 655 voted 1,020 to 507 in favor of the three year agreement.
The original contract expired in May. Union members rejected a previous version in September. The union recommended a yes vote to the membership before last night’s decision.
In a statement emailed to St. Louis Public Radio, UFCW Local 655 President David Cook said, “Schnucks management listened to our concerns and worked with us to provide a significantly revised agreement that our membership supported with tonight’s vote. Our members deserve to be recognized for their sacrifices with a fair contract. The significant concessions from Schnucks show they understood that and came back to the table with a much better contract.”
Both parties recognized the benefits of the new contract.
“We have worked with Local 655 for decades and our goal is always to reach an agreement that’s a win-win for our teammates and the communities we serve,” said Todd Schnuck, Chairman and CEO of Schnuck Markets in the same statement. “This is an important contract in the face of increasing competitive pressures from nearly 600 non-union stores. It is important that we all get out and spend our dollars with union retailers.
The agreement lays out future pay raises and ensures that there will be no loss of health insurance, including spouses and dependents and no change in pension benefits for current employees.
The contract also secured two-week advance schedules, so employees can have an easier time scheduling personal appointments.
Additionally, all employees, not just full-time, will now receive 24 hours of notice about a schedule change.
Employees who leave their position under good terms will be paid out any unused personal holidays and employees will be able to maintain their seniority if they transfer between other UFCW represented Scnucks stores.
However, in the copy of the contract released by UFCW Local 655, they argue that despite bonuses detailed in the contract, the wage increases overall are still less than the cost of living and that employee’s health and welfare premium shares will go up before the raises take effect.
This contract could have far-reaching consequences. Dierbergs and Shop ‘n’ Save engaged with Schnucks in coordinated bargaining with UFCW Local 655. All three companies agreed to adopt the same wage, health insurance and pension changes established by last night’s contract vote. But voting on the Dierbergs and Shop ‘n’ Save agreements has not yet been held.
If the deal had not passed, the union would have given Schnucks a five-day strike notice.
Republished with permission of St. Louis Public Radio: http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/schnucks-workers-accept-contract-and-avoid-strike
