Hannaford’s South Portland warehouse workers vote to strike

Mediation is scheduled for Feb. 26 between Hannaford Supermarkets and union officials for United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1445, whose 250 workers at Hannaford’s South Portland distribution center authorized a strike on Saturday.

The Bangor Daily News reported that a spokeswoman for Delhaize America Distribution LLC — a subsidiary of Hannaford owner Ahold Delhaize, an international retailer based in the Netherlands — said the company “[had] been advised there will not be a strike at this facility pending mediation.”

But Jim Carvalho, political director of UFCW 1445, told the newspaper Monday afternoon that “If the company doesn’t meet with us this week or doesn’t show any movement at the bargaining table we may have to have a job action.”

A news release from UFCW Local 1445, which represents 15,000 workers in Massachusetts, Maine and New Hampshire, said union workers at the Hannaford Distribution Center at 54 Hemco Road in South Portland voted to reject Hannaford’s “last, best offer” for a three-year contract and allow a strike, but did not set a date for one, according to Tom Brown, service director for the local.

Brown said after weeks of negotiating, Hannaford offered a new three-year contract that included a 50-cent annual wage increase but reduced the starting wage for new hires by nearly $4.

“We don’t want to have to strike, but if we can’t make the progress we need to to ensure myself and my fellow co-workers can continue to make a decent living in our communities than we may have to,” Bob LaBrecque, UFCW Local 1445 member, said in the news release. “I have worked here for over 30 years but unfortunately Hannaford would rather suck money out of the community and ship it overseas instead of investing in the loyal, hardworking people of Maine.”

Brown told the BDN that the warehouse employees opposed the lower starting wage of $16 an hour for new hires, compared to the current starting wage of just over $20 an hour. They also are seeking a higher annual raise and options for less expensive health insurance plans.

Hannaford, founded in Portland in 1883, was acquired by Delhaize, a Belgian company, in 2000. Netherlands-based Ahold acquired Delhaize in 2016 to become Ahold Delhaize, and the company owns more than 6,500 stores worldwide. It is the world's fifth-largest grocery retailer and also owns the Food Lion, Stop & Shop, and other regional chains in the United States.

“Ahold Delhaize’s fourth quarter sales rose to nearly $20 Billion in 2017, and the company has recently spent even more billions buying back their own stock,” UFCW Local 1445 stated in its news release. “However, despite this success, Hannaford is refusing to move in areas that will improve the livelihoods of their workers in Maine that have made this distribution center one of the most successful and productive in the entire country.”