UFCW Locals 655, 88, 881 win major protections for members impacted by Shop 'n Save sale

[Sherman A1]

The realization that a union contract is a worker’s only real “Job Insurance” was driven home in recent weeks when Shop ‘n Save announced it was selling 20 of its locations to Schnucks Markets and closing its remaining 15 locations in the St. Louis/Southern Illinois region, impacting the lives of 2,500 union members and their families. Most are members United Food & Commercial Workers Locals 655 (some 1,300) and 88 (some 400) in St. Louis and UFCW Local 881 (some 500 in Southern Illinois).

But thanks to strong union contracts, the tragic impact on these workers will be softened considerably because their union was able to negotiate something normally unheard of when a company closes: for impacted Shop ’n Save members, severance pay, a temporary continuation of critical health and welfare and pension contributions to keep benefits and an opportunity to go to work for Schnucks.

Under most circumstances you read about today, companies close and workers are immediately on the street with nothing.

But not so for these union members because of the “job insurance” of having a strong union and a written contract standing behind its members, even in such tragic circumstances, said Local 655 President David Cook.

“It’s times like these that our partners need their union family the most… and we are committed to protecting our partners at Shop ’n Save,” said the presidents of the three locals when the sale announcement was made in April: Local 655’s Cook, Local 88’s Dan Telle and Local 881’s Ron Powell.

[SWBTATTReg]

1. And this is a wonderful and great thing to have happened (I mean, not the closings, but the ...

union protections)...I shopped at Shop N Save and loved them a lot and will definitely miss them, and the people who worked there. I went shopping there quite a bit and got to know some of the employees a bit and have run into them at various other venues. We know the Schnucks folks who seem to be good folks too. I know some of the employees that work there too and my other half has actually worked w/ the Schnucks personally too at events, who seem nice.

My best wishes and heart go out to the former Shop 'n Save employees, and of course thank goodness for the unions and their protections. Something that the people of Missouri confirmed that they wanted the union protections by voting against the 'right to work' proposition that was defeated in our most recent election (Aug, 2018) by a ratio of 2 to 1 by Missouri voters (the repug legislators and repug governor who has since resigned had pushed the 'right to work' onto Missouri voters, who said NO, let us the voters vote on it), a very big and clear signal that Missouri stood up for its unions and their workers.