Thursday, December 13, 2012

Co-op supports Teamsters Local #117!


Union members at the Co-op’s main distributor, United Natural Foods Inc., went on strike at 7PM, Monday evening through Wednesday afternoon. They’ve been without a contract since UNFI walked away from negotiations in August, and in the interim UNFI has hired replacement workers, sent threatening letters home to workers, ended overtime for union members, and hired armed guards. Striking workers asked UNFI to return to the bargaining table in good faith, and yesterday evening they set a date to continue negotiations. Yay!

In support of striking workers, the Co-op refused to place our UNFI orders on Wednesday for Thursday delivery. These orders would have been fulfilled by replacement workers, and placing orders would have broken the picket line. Supporting our distributor’s workers is part of our mission to “support efforts to foster a socially and economically egalitarian society” and to “encourage economic and social justice”.

Some products may be temporarily out of stock due to our support of the strike. If you are looking for an out of stock item, staff members will be happy to call our other location to see if they have the product in stock or to help you find a similar item. We will receive our next order on Saturday morning, so you can expect all of your regular items to be back in stock at that time! And don't worry - the stores are still full of delicious food and other goods.

Let UNFI know that you support striking Teamsters, and that they should cease labor violations and negotiate a fair contract with their workers. Contact:

Hank Heatherly - General Manager
hheatherly@unfi.com
253.333.6769

Steven Spinner - President and CEO
United Natural Foods Incorporated
313 Iron Horse Way
Providence, RI. 02908-5637
Fax: 302.655.5049