IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM PRESIDENT JOHN T. NICCOLLAI TUESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2025

REPORT ON SIXTH MAJOR EMPLOYER CONTRACT  NEGOTIATION SESSION

President Niccollai reported that the sixth negotiating session between the Union and ShopRite, Stop and Shop, Kings, Foodtown, DeCiccos and other independent employers was held yesterday, August 11, 2025, at the Best Western in Fairfield, New Jersey.  At this meeting, the employers presented the Union negotiating committee with a third contract proposal seeking to achieve a contract.

In all candor, the committee appreciated the fact that the company withdrew a number of their previous contract demands but the proposal was totally inadequate and would not allow us to properly fund our pension and welfare programs and, further, contained wage increases far less than what we received in our last contract.

As your President and chief negotiator, I understand the frustration and pain that the uncertainty of these negotiations bring to you and your family members.  Questions like “what will happen to my healthcare costs?”, “will I have a pension adequate to permit me to retire?” and most important, “will I be able to continue to pay my bills and pay the high cost of everyday living?”.  As you ponder these issues, please be aware that your Union negotiating committee, made up of Union Officers, staff members, and knowledgeable rank-and-file members have been involved in numerous contract negotiations.  As the adage goes, “this ain’t our first ride at the rodeo.” The process is extremely difficult because the contract we are seeking will not cost our employers millions of dollars or even tens of millions of dollars, but many, many multiples of tens of millions of dollars.  Just as we expected, the companies are playing hard-ball and we are fighting tooth-and-nail over every single dollar.

I am pleased to report that our Membership is hanging tough and they are helping the negotiating committee by giving feedback to the companies that they will not accept the undermining of our Union welfare and pension plans and, further, will not accept any less than substantial wage increases.

As we all know, it is only a matter of days before the contract expires.  Your contract negotiating committee is locked on to delivering a contract for ratification that achieves our goals in the areas of pension and healthcare and delivers wages increases that will permit us to meet our economic needs today and into the future.  Please continue to voice your input to management that you are in full support of the negotiating committee and, further, that you will not ratify a contract that fails to meet our goals.  We will continue to keep the Membership informed as negotiations proceed and, again, we wish to thank our amazing Membership for their continued support and their help in getting our message to management.