Stop & Shop Strike Over As Worker Pay Raises Approved

QUINCY, MA — The Stop & Shop worker strike ended Sunday night as the company's more than 31,000 workers agreed to a new contract that includes pay raises and the protection of health benefits and pensions. The strike lasted 11 days after workers at stores across Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut walked off the job, causing chaos. The company struggled to keep stores open with replacement workers and experienced a reported 75 percent decline in shopper visits. In Connecticut, someone threatened to shoot striking workers in the town of Wethersfield.

"We’re also glad to have our associates return to work," Stop & Shop said in a statement. "Our associates’ top priority will be restocking our stores so we can return to taking care of our customers and communities and providing them with the service they deserve."

The Quincy, Massachusetts-based company said the new contract includes "increased pay ... continued excellent health coverage ... (and) ongoing defined benefit pension benefits."

The strike started on April 11 after Stop & Shop and the unions failed to reach agreements on new contracts, with disputes over healthcare and retirement benefits being among the biggest disagreements. Managers closed a handful of stores in all three states and opened others with replacement workers.

"We're just standing up saying enough's enough," Sean Killiea, who works at the Brookline Stop & Shop, told Patch's Jenna Fisher when the strike started. "The end goal is just a fair contract. That's all we want we don't need anything extra. They're the number one corporation ... We just want what's fair."

Elizabeth Warren and Joe Biden were among the politicians who visited the striking workers as a show of support. Workers accosted Boston Bruins legend Ray Bourque after he crossed the picket line to go shopping at the North Andover Stop & Shop. Bourque later apologized.

Stop & Shop strike timeline

• Jan. 14: Stop & Shop and workers start negotiations on a new contract.
• Feb. 23: The current contract expires.
• March 10: Workers start discussing a possible strike.
• April 11: Workers go on strike for the first time since 1988.
• April 12: Elizabeth Warren rallies with striking workers in Somerville.
• April 15: Workers yell "Shame on you!" as Boston Bruins legend Ray Bourque crosses the picket line to shop at the North Andover Stop & Shop.
• April 18: Joe Biden rallies with striking workers in Dorchester.
• April 19: Someone threatened to shoot striking workers at the Stop & Shop in Wethersfield, Connecticut.
• April 21: The strike ends as both sides agree on a new contract.