Acme uncompromising, 1776 members remain willing to negotiate

On the eve of Acme Markets' threat to terminate its contract with 4,000 workers in 40 stores in Greater Philadelphia, officials of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1776 said they remain willing to negotiate and urged the company to return to the bargaining table. "By demanding that its employees accept a take it or leave it proposal and walking away from negotiations, the company has left its employees and their families totally in the dark as tomorrow dawns," said Wendell W. Young, IV, President of Local 1776. "The refusal of Acme's executives to compromise means that their workers–the men and women who make their stores run and who have direct contact and relations with their customers–have no idea what conditions await them tomorrow," Young said. Young said that he is advising Acme members of Local 1776 to report to work tomorrow. A meeting of the membership has been called for next Wednesday, July 15 at the Spectrum. Young said that as recently as last week the union made a comprehensive offer to settle the contract. The company did not counter, insisting that the members of Local 1776 revote on its ultimatum. "We remain committed to negotiating, and continue to believe that the solutions can be found only in collective bargaining." On June 9, 2009, in response to the Union's willingness to discuss a new pension structure offered by the company, Acme terminated negotiations, presented a final proposal to the union and announced its intention to terminate the collective bargaining agreement tomorrow. Since that time the employees of Acme have been subjected to a campaign of coercion and threats designed to convince them to accept the company's proposal, which seriously diminishes health and pension benefits and freezes most wage rates for four years. in February 2008. The contract has been extended by the parties until Acme's unilateral decision to terminate in expressed in the June 9 letter. Acme's workers have remained on the job under an extension of that contract. "We bargained patiently for 18 months and our members worked throughout this time, most of them with no raises. Not once did we threaten a job action or talk in any way about a strike or walkout. We stayed at the table because it was in the best interests of Acme's workers, the company and the customers that our members serve every day. "At the start of these talks our nation's economy nosedived in a way that we haven't seen in generations, making the pension and health care issues in this contract only more difficult to resolve. At the same time, the company has continued to lose market share year-after-year, as reported recently in the news media. "These issues can be solved, but not if Acme's managers insist on trying to take advantage of the economy by scapegoating their own employees for management's failures to take the steps necessary to compete in this market." Young said that the union has offered proposals to help the company control costs. He said these provisions are similar to provisions between Local 1776 and other supermarket chains in the region. "Instead of considering these offers, the company has issued its ultimatum and threatened and intimidated its workers. It has tried to blame them for its own failure to manage and invest in its stores," he said.