A Message from UFCW Local 328 President Timothy Melia Regarding Hazard Pay for Stop & Shop Members
Brothers and sisters,
Over the last three months, during the worst pandemic in nearly 100 years, members of Local 328 have gone to work every day just doing their jobs. While most people were ordered to shelter at home and self-quarantine, you went to work.
Many of you went from being just another worker, to an essential worker. Stocking the shelfs to taking care of the sick and infirmed, Local 328 members were on the front lines everyday doing what they do best.
During that time the leadership of this union has advocated company officials as well as state and federal legislatures to take care of workers by designating them as first responders while making them eligible for PPE, child care as well as access to testing. But one of the most significant accomplishments was getting the companies to agree to increase wages with recognition of your risk by giving you hazard pay.
Hazard pay is a token pay increase to recognize the fact that you were not only taking care of the customers, but putting yourself, as well as your entire family, at risk of contracting the virus.
Your employer has agreed to extend your current pay increase until July 4th at which time they can continue it, reduce it, or eliminate it all together.
We firmly believe, and have expressed this to the company as well, that as long as you must continue to wear masks, social distance from customers, disinfect your workplace daily, and expose you and your family to potential health risks, that the hazard pay should continue.
We will continue to fight to preserve this benefit and it is our goal that through continued discussions with your employer that they will do the right thing, but we can’t be sure. So, we strongly urge you to speak with your store manager and express to them that it is your belief that the Company should continue paying hazard pay as long as this crisis continues.
We at this Local, as well as Locals throughout the Northeast, will continue to advocate this message on your behalf to the Company.
