The struggles, triumphs of Hamden’s local library system are on full display during tough economic times

By Marissa Davis

An unassuming brick building lies in the shadows of Town Hall on Dixwell Avenue. Weeds grow from sidewalk cracks. Construction noise provides a background soundtrack. Inside the building, books — yes, books still exist — fill wooden shelves as people loiter with an unspoken to read a newspaper or assemble a puzzle. Children entertain themselves with toys and books while surrounded by brightly painted animals.

That’s a typical scene in the Miller Memorial Library in Hamden, Connecticut. It’s the main branch of the three libraries in a town of 61,000 people.

The library is named in honor of inventor and businessman, Willis E. Miller. Miller died in 1904 and his widow bequeathed the library to the town. It originally opened its doors in 1952, but has been renovated several times since.

The HPL is centered upon the Miller Memorial Library and two other branches. The two branches are the Brundage Community Branch on Circular Avenue and the Whitneyville Branch on Carleton Street.

But that centerpiece library named in honor of Miller is falling apart according to library officials.

“I’ve been here for seven years and so when I got here I had to take stock of the physical condition of the library,” library director Marian Amodeo said. “Technically we should have a new building.”

Annual reports in 2013 and 2014 point to the main library’s deterioration and problems with the branch libraries.

In 2013, the report noted issues with the phone system and spotty Wi-Fi service.

The 2014 annual report is apocalyptic.

“The exteriors of all three Hamden library buildings are in dire need of repair and attention,” the report stated. “The branch libraries need paint and other repairs to the buildings, and the grounds are an embarrassment. The main library needs power-washing of the bricks, landscaping and other repairs.”

The report revealed that the Miller Library lacked working fire alarms.

The 2017 report furnished equally bad news.

“The poor condition of the buildings and the grounds of both branches is stunning,” the report stated. “Painting, both interior and exterior, landscaping, cleaning, ceiling tile replacement, lighting, carpeting, furniture replacement, driveway and parking lot resurfacing, security and more is needed at both locations.”

The most recent annual report speaks to frustrations with the lack of movement in implementing repairs to both buildings.

Even with its structural challenges, the HPL continues to operate and produce programs for children and families.

“We moved every single thing around in the library in order to make a larger space for the children’s department,” Amodeo said. “This is a town of 60,000 people and the space allotted for children was minuscule so we just tripled the size of the children’s room and made an early learning center.”

Every kindergartner and fourth-grader living in Hamden visit the library for a story-based program and library cards. And the HPL now runs the Hamden Public Schools’ summer reading program.

HPL offers numerous free programs families, according to Marcy Goldman, head of Children’s Services.

“Throughout the year, September through May, we have weekly story time sessions,” Goldman said. “They run for five weeks at a time we do different age groups so that they’re age appropriate and we can incorporate what we are supposed to incorporate into a story time.”

But the library offers more than just story time for children.

“We also have STEM play for preschoolers, so I have lots of different things I buy from Lakeshore that are STEM-related but they’re good for young kids,” Goldman said. “So one of them for instance is a fairy-tale kit. So it’s the three little pigs and they have to practice with the sticks and the blocks that they give them, building the house that’s gonna be the strongest.”

HPL also offers convenient activities for the transient families that reside in Hamden.

“We have playgroups too that are just very casual,” Goldman said. “A lot of parents like that, there’s a lot of people in this community that come to the library that are new to town. We find that there’s a lot of transient people, they come here because their husband or wife is doing their residency at Yale, so they live here for that amount of time and then they move. Those people use the library a lot.”

Funding from the Friends of the Library has been a huge help in getting the HPL children’s department off the ground.

“Then we have fun programs,” Goldman said. “People that we hire once in a while, a lot of the programs we try to do on our own at low cost but when we have larger performers that cost say three hundred or four hundred dollars to come in and do a magic show or something that money we get from the friends of the library so everything here is always free. We don’t charge for anything.”

The library sought to target teens under a special program and even deployed a librarian to that task. But resources really needed to be focused on adult programming after years without that service.

“When I got here the staff didn’t do any adult programming,” Amodeo said. “There used to be a really vibrant friends’ group but they don’t really exist anymore. We all started to do programming and that’s just off the charts in terms of adult lifelong learning problems, cultural series, movies, those kinds of things.”

Hamden’s increasingly diverse population is prompting the library to respond. World Language teachers at the Hamden Public Schools asked the library to get families more involved in programming.

“A few weeks back we had our third world language night where we opened the library just to this group and they come in and we work with the teachers and there’s dinner and activities for the children,” Amodeo said. “We couldn’t be more happy about that because we feel we are working hand in hand to try to acclimate new residents in town.”

As the library director, Amodeo reports to the mayor, Curt Leng and to the five-member library board. The board offers some funding for programs through donations to help fill budgetary gaps. The board funded the purchase of computers to equip a lab where two librarians can offer classes on how to use the machines to the public.

Councilwoman Lauren Garrett is one official who can vouch for the library’s importance in a digital age.

“Personally I feel that libraries need to stay around,” Garret said. “My grandfather for instance, I’m pretty sure he graduated from high school, but he went off into the military, came back, had a family. Never really got much of an education beyond that and he read all the time. He was one of the smartest guys I knew, just because he was so well read. That exists in our society. You’ll find really intelligent people and it’s all because of the library.”

A new website is helping to modernize the library, according to Jessica Dans, the head of technical services.

“I did try to make our website very bright and colorful and inviting,” Dans said. “The thing people say when they come in is how nice the staff is, it’s such a friendly place, they feel so comfortable here. We kind of wanted the website to reflect that. It was a little stuffier before so we wanted something fun.”

“People have to keep in mind that the library isn’t just a bricks and mortar place, it’s a virtual place too,” Amodeo said. “A resident could come in, get a library card, and then never have to come back in here again because they then have access with their cards to thousands of e-books, all or most of our online resources, online magazines.”

The HPL used to be a stand-alone library, but Amodeo was able to bring it into a consortium of libraries rejuvenated the library.

“Because we’re together with other libraries I encouraged my staff to start to sit on different committees, go to workshops and roundtables,” Amodeo said.

Funding problems, however, persist.

“I’ve worked in a variety of different libraries and some had no issues at all with funding,” Amodeo said. “So we were able to be on the cutting edge all the time. And this is not that type of library. It’s just not. You don’t get the funding. So the things I’m telling you we’re doing have already been done by other libraries but for us it’s huge.”

A new challenge emerged last year as budgets went under the ax.

“Last year we received a $30,000 budget cut in February to our materials and that just messed us up completely,” Amodeo said. “And then for this fiscal year they didn’t reinstate a lot of that money. So our material budget was decimated. That’s huge.”

The library’s budget is set by the mayor and Legislative Council.

“What happens is in January each department head creates their own budget request,” Amodeo said. “Then in February you go and sit with the mayor and the finance director and you justify, you argue, for your request. Then after you leave the mayor does his thing…so he cuts. And then in March his budget goes to council.”

Jody Clouse, a council member, said budgets are tight in large measure to commitments to pensions.

“Hamden has been in a difficult position largely due to the lack of funding pensions in previous administrations,” Clouse said. “Added to that strain, Hamden takes a big hit when it comes to education funding from the state which again was cut drastically last year. The current council does its best to make headway on funding the pension, as well as doing our best to make sure our schools and essential services are adequately funded. All this while trying to keep the mill rate as low as we can. Unfortunately that leaves very little wiggle room.”

Amodeo said that the library budget might be around $240,000 for the fiscal year. That money goes toward all of the library materials–books, newspapers, magazines, all audio and visual materials and all online resources for the three branches of the library. Each librarian is then assigned a different section or media and are given a part of the budget.

“For example, I have religion so they give me, let’s say, $1,000,” Amodeo said. “So I do my purchasing based on professional journal reviews and patron requests et cetera. I do my purchasing through the year, so you have a full year. You have four quarters to do that.”

In February of last year, Leng took $30,000 from the HPL materials budget.

“That $30,000 was a pot of money that we were all going to use for our spring purchasing,” Amodeo said. “And then they just took it away. … It was devastating.”

This year the library is working with less than $200,000 as a budget. Amodeo requested a larger budget for the next fiscal year, but will not find out the allotted budget until May 15.

“We have a small friend’s group right now and they run a used bookstore down in the lower level and they give every penny of what they earn to us,” Amodeo said. “That’s how we were able to do most of our programming.”

The HPL system is more than just a place to find books for the community. The libraries are an important resource as well.

“It’s the one place in any town that allows free access to every kind of information source, available to all people, to all residents, no matter what their age, their race, their affiliations, anything. They’re welcome here,” Amodeo said.

The future of the HPL system is dependent on the budget offered to them by the town.

“I would absolutely love to see a robust HPL system that is able to offer programming, services and resources for all ages of the community as well as promoting and celebrating the diversity of our town,” Clouse said. “I think they are doing an outstanding job of offering these things within their limited budget. But in an ideal world, they’d be able to do much more.”

With support from the community it can be shown to town officials that the HPL is an important and valued resource for Hamden residents. HPL strives to better itself in the coming years but is held back due do budget cuts and a lack of resources.

Only time will tell what the future has in store for the HPL.

Ray & Mike’s owner pleads guilty to tax evasion

The owner of a Hamden deli frequented by Quinnipiac University students pleaded guilty to one count of federal tax evasion last week and faces up to five years in prison, as well as a hefty restitution.

Ray George, 52, owns Ray & Mike’s Dairy and Deli at 3030 Whitney Ave. and is a popular fixture at the bustling shop.

Ray George, 52, owns Ray & Mike’s Dairy and Deli, a business that has served Hamden for 21 years. Pictured here in a photo from the deli’s website, George pleaded guilty to one count of federal tax evasion on Friday, May 17.

But, according to a Monday release from the U.S. District Attorney’s Office for Connecticut, George “underreported his income by approximately $365,065 for the 2012 tax year and by $273,108 for the 2013 tax year, and failed to pay a total of approximately $220,000 in taxes.”

George evaded his federal income taxes in multiple ways, the court documents say, using his Ray & Mike’s business account for personal expenses, failing to deposit cash receipts from the deli into his business account and using a portion of the cash to fill an in-store ATM and not reporting the cash as income.

The court documents also say George deposited three checks totaling nearly $300,000 from the Ray & Mike’s business account into his personal investment account, without reporting the funds as income in any capacity, and then withdrew funds from the investment account to purchase personal investment properties.

He also deposited a $25,800 check from the Ray & Mike’s lottery account into his personal investment account without reporting them.

George waived his right to be indicted and pleaded guilty on Friday, May 17 in the U.S. District Court in Bridgeport.

George faces a fine of up to approximately $440,000, as well as potential jail time. He has agreed to pay back taxes of $220,663, plus interest and penalties.

The 21-year-old business is known best for its sandwich menu, as well as the fact it is open seven days a week, 365 days a year, including holidays and during winter storms.

Revisiting Hamden: Recounting the evolution from small town to rising city

By Shayla Colon

Dirt roads that went for miles, no dwellings in sight- just a lush grassland lined with hills of blossoming trees– that was Hamden in the 1600s. Once a rural region, Hamden has evolved into a thriving and developing city nearly 70 years later, changing from masses of open farmland to a bustling landscape with buildings on every corner. The engine driving this progression is people.

Hamden center in 1936, courtesy of Dave Johnson

Today, the small town is a developing city on the rise with stores in every corner and residents on every street.

Read the full story here.

Waking the giant: SGPA volunteer talks about rebuilding Sleeping Giant State Park

By: Aliza Gray

The one year anniversary of the massive tornado that struck Hamden is rapidly approaching, but a re-open date for Sleeping Giant State Park remains as ambiguous as ever.

Clean-up efforts at Sleeping Giant State Park in Hamden are in full swing with the goal of getting the state park, closed to the public for nearly a year, open and ready for the summer season. Much of the progress made in the last eleven months is thanks to volunteers of the Sleeping Giant Park Association (SGPA). Just days after the devastating EF1 tornado, SPGA volunteers were on scene and working to make Sleeping Giant safe for the public. The project was a massive undertaking, with the to-do list including projects like clearing nearly 2000 toppled trees from the park’s 32 hiking trails. Thankfully, volunteers like Dr. Luis Arata were up to the challenge.

“Each downed tree was a fascinating, dangerous puzzle,” Arata said. “I remember staring at tangled blow-downs and trying to visualize the actions of the trees before I would start cutting. We had to try to predict how a tree would react and move when cut, and how to stay out of harm’s way.”

An Argentinian native, Arata came to the United States in 1968 to pursue higher education. Settling in Hamden nearly three decades ago, Arata now serves as chairperson of the department of modern languages at Quinnipiac University.

For years, whenever he needed an escape from the pressures of professional life, Arata looked no farther than across Mount Carmel Avenue to Sleeping Giant State Park. An avid runner, he’s spent countless hours exploring the park and getting well-acquainted with every twist and turn of its trails. Just months before the storm struck Arata completed the “Sleeping Giant Master Marathon,” an all-day feat that involves covering all marked trails back-to-back – a distance of nearly 28 miles. His accomplishment inspired Arata to deepen his relationship with the park. He made the decision to run for director-at-large on SPGA’s board of directors, and May 6, 2018, Arata was elected.

Days later, the tornado touched down in Hamden, causing millions of dollars in damage, leaving thousands without power and mangling Sleeping Giant. For Arata, the storm hit far too close to home in every sense, as his family’s home sits near the base of the mountain.

“Our house took a direct hit but was miraculously left standing between masses of downed trees,” Arata said. “We were surrounded by a jungle of foliage, massive rootballs, craters, tangled limbs up to the roof. My father’s day gift was a second chainsaw.”

Immediately after clearing the debris from his own property, Arata shifted his attention to the Giant, joining the SPGA volunteer trail crews in July of 2018. Every Sunday from 9 a.m. until noon, Arata worked alongside about two dozen other volunteers to carefully clear the masses of fallen limbs that cluttered the trails. When Arata joined the team, about two miles of trails had been addressed – leaving about 30 more miles.

“It looked like an absurdly impossible task,” Arata said. “Ray DeGennaro, the SGPA board member directing trail maintenance, had organized teams of four or five volunteers and assigned them to certain trials. We met at the park entrance, we got tools together, hiked up to assigned locations, and got to work cutting the way through.”

As summer turned to fall, the number of volunteers grew and each day the massive clean-up seemed less and less daunting. By September, there were as many as 85 volunteers out on the trails. By the end of January, nearly all of the park’s blazed trails were reopened. With the exception of just two trails, practically all trail clearing that had been done up to this point was the work of volunteers.

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In the early months of 2019, bitterly cold temperatures and frequent winter storms hampered the clean-up efforts. Occasionally, severe wind storms and ice storms were so destructive that volunteers had to go back and redo some of the trails. It’s setbacks like these that are largely to blame for the elusive re-open date. However, since April SGPA volunteers have been firing on all cylinders, and the prognosis is good. Although there is still some work to be done, Arata is optimistic that the community will be able to enjoy the Sleeping Giant in the near future.

“Since Sleeping Giant is a state park, [Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection] makes the call, but the trails are nearly clear once more and they’re being blazed again. We can only hope the park reopens soon.”

Protestors confront Hamden Mayor nearly two weeks after officer-involved shooting

By Caitlin Fish

Protesters left the streets of Hamden on Monday and marched into Mayor Curt Balzano Leng’s, office demanding that Hamden’s police commission conduct an independent investigation of a police-involved shooting that happened two weeks prior.

Demonstrators are still requesting that Devin Eaton, the Hamden Police Department officer involved in the shooting of an unarmed couple, be fired immediately.

Mayor Leng said that he does not have the power to fire Eaton although he agrees with what the protestors are requesting.

“I have seen enough to say that I don’t think that Officer Eaton should be a Hamden police officer any longer,” Leng said.

Although Hamden PD cannot head the criminal investigation, the department’s ethics and integrity unit will also conduct its own local investigation, according to Mayor Leng.

The two officers involved are on paid leave while the investigation remains underway.

Kiesha Greene, the mother of the unarmed driver involved in the shooting, Paul Witherspoon III, addressed the media Monday and said she agrees that the officers should be fired.

Greene said that she believes the shooting does not only concern her son and Stephanie Washington, the woman who was shot, but that it’s about the community and its entirety.

“Next week it could be somebody else’s child, and I don’t want to see this happen to anyone’s kid,” Greene said.

She voiced her disappointment in not being contacted by the ministers who held the prayer service Sunday in New Haven at the Varick Memorial Church in wake of the shooting.

“How do you have that type of meeting and not have the victims there or the victim’s parents there, because aren’t you talking about the situation that happened,” she said. “Wouldn’t you want to be able to speak to us and have our voices be heard?”

The service was called Hope for Healing and community leaders joined law enforcement officials to focus on finding healing and helping to build trust between the community and law enforcement.

Jacob Schmidt, a 22-year-old Yale student from Richmond, Michigan, decided to go to the service after participating in two of the protests that happened near his school.

“It was so powerful to see everyone come together, leave their apprehensions at the door and commit to a peaceful service,” Schmidt said. “I think this is something that the community should continue to aspire to.”

Pastor of the service, Kelcy G.I Steele, said he believes religious leaders must play a part in improving the community’s policing.

“We are committed to building bridges between police and community and we understand that policing in America is facing a crisis of legitimacy and purpose,” Steele said, according to WFSB.

Connecticut State Police have yet to come to a conclusion on the investigation. During a press conference last Tuesday, the latest information on the investigation and Officer Eaton’s body cam footage from the incident were released.

The state’s public safety commissioner, James Rovella, conducted the press conference. He noted that the release of the footage marked a difference in operation procedures.

“Before we used to not show any of this until the conclusion of the investigation,” Rovella said.

Rovella said that state police do not have footage from the Yale officer Terrence Pollock because his body cam was not turned on during the time of the incident.

“In a perfect world, he would have turned on his camera sooner, but the officer was facing many stressors at the time,” he said.

Rovella revealed that the communication between Hamden PD and New Haven during the night of the shooting may have contributed to how the incident played out.

“Hamden tells New Haven that, in fact, they’ve had an armed robbery involving a firearm. They did not tell New Haven that Hamden was actually entering their city,” Rovella said.

He stated that the officers involved will not be charged until the investigation is completed. Information from officers about what was going on in their heads during the shooting is still lacking because the officers have been on leave, according to the commissioner.

“I have concerns about many different aspects of how this case was handled.”

Humans of Hamden

Jin Park, 23

“I’ve lived here since I was in the third grade. My mom was in the food business; she had a sushi restaurant in Texas. She also owned a couple nail salons and she wanted to open up a restaurant [the OZ Korean Kitchen]. It’s pretty steady. It used to be better but it’s kind of slowing down I’d say. I used to hang out at the plaza in middle school with all of my friends. I was in seventh or eighth grade just walking around the plaza, walking the trail. There are new businesses opening up everywhere. Everything is changing, definitely.”

The queens of New Haven

How the art of drag impacts one Connecticut city

By Samantha Bashaw

In between bursts of hairspray, a towering figure in six-inch heels shakes her mane. Kiki Lucia applies fake lashes with precision, masks a flat chest with flawless boob contour and cinches her waist tight to form a perfect hourglass figure. Lucia, 34-year-old drag queen extraordinaire, is ready for her show.

Kiki Lucia prepares for her performance at 168 York Street Cafe in New Haven.

She descends the wooden staircase at 168 York Street Cafe in her hot pink dress and blonde curly wig. The small room below her is packed with regulars and drag show virgins with dollar bills ready to tip their reigning queen. She cues the DJ as “Barbie Girl” blasts through the speakers. Her fuschia lips break into a smile as she lip syncs each line, spinning and dancing down the aisle with grace.

Every Friday night for four years, Lucia has performed her personalized show “Let’s Have a Kiki” at 168 York Street Cafe. She is one of the dozens of New Haven queens and is considered by some to be the “mom” of a drag scene that is starting to grow in popularity.

Read the full story here.

Hamden celebrity of the week

Linda Greenhouse, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist

Greenhouse, who grew up in Hamden, covered the Supreme Court for the New York Times from 1978 to 2007. She has written 2,100 articles for the Times since 1981. In 1988 she was awarded a Pulitzer Prize in Journalism for her coverage of the Supreme Court. She currently works at Yale Law School as the Joseph Goldstein Lecturer in Law and Knight Distinguished Journalist in Residence.

A proposal to bring armed officers to Hamden’s elementary schools sparks debate

By Aliza Gray

Dunbar Hill Elementary School is one of eight Hamden schools that is considering implementing the employment of security resource officers.

In just a few weeks the Hamden Legislative Council will vote on a school budget that may include money to place armed school resource officers (SROs) in Hamden’s eight elementary schools.

However, that proposal is stirring controversy in Hamden where its opponents, mainly parents, argue that the presence of armed officers is unnecessary, and will have an overwhelming negative effect on the young students.

“It’s not a good idea to make the age younger and younger when kids are interacting with the police when it’s not needed,” Hamden elementary school parent Jennifer Pope said.

SROs have been fixtures in Hamden’s middle and high schools for years, and their presence as an additional safety measure has been widely accepted by parents, teachers and students alike. The success of these programs have led many community leaders, including Mayor Curt Leng to supporting expanding them to Hamden’s elementary schools. Pending approval from the legislative council, Mayor Leng’s proposal would bring in two Hamden police officers as SROs, who would serve in each school on a rotating basis.

Pope, founder of the Hamden Progressive Action Network (HamPAN), is an outspoken critic of the mayor’s motion. She began HamPAN after the results of the 2016 presidential election inspired her to take on a more active role in politics. During the past three years, HamPAN has focused primarily on issues at the municipal and state levels. Now, its turned its attention to keeping SROs out of elementary schools.

In March, HamPAN created a petition to halt Mayor Leng’s proposal. Citing a report from Connecticut Voices for Children, Pope voiced concern about the effect SROs have on minority students, namely students of color and those with disabilities. The results of the study, which analyzed the effect of SROs on 1000 students across the state in grades K-12, were published earlier this month.

“There are some troubling things in that report…minorities have more contact with the SROs than their white counterparts,” Pope said. “Overwhelmingly the research shows that having SROs in schools doesn’t make them safer.”

Numerous leaders in the school district would disagree. Daniel Levy has been the principal of West Woods Elementary School for the last five years. He argues that, in his experience, SROs serve a crucial role in the school district.

“I worked very closely, for a long time, with Hamden SROs, and really the SRO program is the physical manifestation of the close partnership between the police department and the school system,” Levy said. “What we had always done by working together was promote a safe and welcoming school climate conducive to learning.”

Prior to working West Woods, Levy served as the principal of Hamden Middle School for several years. During that time, he said he witnessed firsthand the positive impact that SROs had on students.

“SROs repeatedly built trusting relationships with students. I had one SRO [at Hamden Middle School], Officer [Andrea] Vay…she used to play violin in our school orchestra with the kids,” Levy said. “Having strong relationships with adults who care for them, who can assist them, is so important.”

Jody Goeler, superintendent for the Hamden school district, echoes Levy’s sentiment, adding that the presence of SROs facilitates a safe learning environment.

“Because there’s so many of them and so few of us, it’s very important that if our students see something or are involved with something that presents a safety concern to them that they have immediate access to and a trusting relationship with a police officer so they can get the help they need,” Goeler said. “They work effectively with our security guards as well, and they also work effectively with our administration.”

Goeler went on to say that should a crisis occur, having officers in the school would be hugely beneficial in minimizing the threat and protecting students.

“[SROs] are effective on a variety of levels. If there are issues relating to say a bomb scare or other kind of safety concern, we have people in those schools who are immediately accessible to help us address those concerns and maintain the safety of our students,” Goeler said.

Not only would these officers be a familiar face to students during an emergency, but Principal Levy also pointed out that having SROs cycle through schools would give them a chance to get familiar with the physical layout of the buildings, allowing them to act more quickly in a crisis.

“God forbid if they needed to respond to a school, they’d be familiar with the layout,” Levy said. “We don’t want to be experiencing a response for the first time in an actual emergency.”

As superintendent, Goeler also created a budget proposal for the upcoming school year, and it does not include funds for bringing officers into Hamden’s elementary schools. Despite understanding the benefits, he believes there are better ways to use the money to meet the needs of the community. Of the issues students in Hamden are facing, Goeler believes that a lack of mental health resources is the most pressing. His proposal features funds set aside for the purpose of bringing mental health professionals into the schools.

Goeler explained that, in an ideal scenario, there would be enough money in the town’s budget to finance both an SRO program at the elementary school level in addition to mental health resources. Given the limited budget however, Goeler stands behind his proposal to use the funds to promote the mental health of students.

“If I had my druthers and money wasn’t an issue, I wouldn’t be opposed to having SROs in all of our buildings because I’ve seen that work in other districts,” Goeler said. “In an environment where we have only a finite amount of dollars, I want to put them towards the kind of support that our students need to access their education. Right now, those needs center around mental health support.”

Stop & Shop reaches tentative agreement with striking employees

By Kirby Paulson

A post on Facebook by UFCW Local 371 announcing that an agreement has been reached.

After an 11 day strike, Stop & Shop and local unions have reached tentative three-year agreements that will end the labor dispute.

“We are very pleased to announce Stop & Shop has reached fair new tentative agreements with UFCW Locals 328, 371, 919, 1445 and 1459, which represent our 31,000 associates in Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island,” the Stop & Shop statement said, “We’re also glad to have our associates return to work as the strike has ended.”

The statement also includes some details of what is included in the agreement including increased pay.

“The tenative three-year agreements, which are subject to ratification votes by members of each of the union locals, include:

Increased pay for all associates;
Continued excellent health coverage for eligible associates; and
Ongoing defined benefit pension benefits for all eligible associates.”

Stop & Shops official update located on its labor page.

The United Food and Commercial Workers Union also released a statement regarding the agreements.

“Under this proposed contract, our members will be able to focus on continuing to help customers in our communities enjoy the best shopping experience possible and to keep Stop & Shop the number one grocery store in New England,” it said. “The agreement preserves health care and retirement benefits, provides wage increases, and maintains time-and-a-half pay on Sunday for current members.”

UFCW Local 371 posted news about the negotiation on its Facebook page informing workers of the agreement and announcing information on the next steps.

“Members, as of minutes ago, we have reached a tentative agreement with Stop & Shop. For the time being, all department managers and regularly scheduled daytime full-time should report to their store at 7:30 a.m. Monday,” the post said. “For all additional full- and part-time members, you should receive a phone call from your store no later than 12pm tomorrow to get your schedule for the week. If you do not receive a call, please call your store for your schedule.”

Strikers will also receive some money for their efforts according to the post.

“Monetary benefits from the strike fund will still be coming soon for those who were on the lines,” the post stated.

In order to get back on track, Stop & Shop says it will focus on restocking its stores.

“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 statement said. “We deeply appreciate the patience and understanding of our customers during this time, and we look forward to welcoming them back to Stop & Shop.”

Union members are urged to attend their local ratification meetings in order to receive full details on the agreements.

“We strongly encourage you to attend your Local’s contract ratification meeting for a complete and detailed report of what is in the contract,” the UFCW Local 371 said. “We will send you immediate notices of when and where your Local’s meeting will be.”

The post ended with a thank you to all of those involved for their efforts.

“The message you sent by collectively standing up for yourselves, your families, and for good jobs, has resonated not only with the company, but all of America,” it read. “Thank you for everything that you’ve done.”