“We are pleased that this agreement has now been implemented,” Giant Food President Ira Kress said in a statement. “With this significant investment to stabilize and secure our employees` pension plans, we feel we are doing the right thing for our employees, who are committed to our customers every day.” When WAMU approached Safeway last week, the company did not respond to its proposals, but wrote in a statement that it “is committed to staying at the negotiating table to address our challenges.” The company told the New York Post last month that it was not required to increase its contribution to employees` retirement plans in the event of bankruptcy. The contract includes an increase in occupational pension contributions of $18.6 million per year, or $74.4 million over the four-year term of the agreement. And he increases salaries by a total of $49.5 million over the four-year term of the contract. Salaries will increase gradually, by $4 million in the first year, $8.8 million in the second year, $15.3 million in the third year and $21.4 million last year. Landover, Md. – Giant Food of Landover, Md. today announced a preliminary agreement on a new employment contract for approximately 17,000 employees in the Baltimore-Washington area. If ratified, the agreement ensures that Giant`s employees will be among the highest paid in the industry in the Baltimore-Washington area, while allowing Giant to compete effectively in a growing market. The agreement is expected to be ratified by union members on Tuesday, April 3. The union, which represents thousands of Giant and Safeway workers in the region, said it had reached a preliminary contract agreement with Giant on Tuesday night after more than five months of negotiations. Marc Federici, president of UFCW Local 400, said Wednesday that union members will meet on March 5 to vote on the deal.
Funding pension benefits for current workers and retirees has proven to be the most controversial issue, union leaders said. They said the agreements were among the only ones in the U.S. to get a multi-employer defined benefit pension plan. Giant, based in Landover, Maryland, said that under the agreement, the current pension plans — the Food Employers Labor Relations Association (FELRA) and the UFCW Pension Plan, as well as UFCW Mid-Atlantic and the Participating Employer Pension Plan (MAP) — will be combined into a single plan to provide past retirement benefits. In the future, giant ufcw Locals 400 and 27 members will participate in a new VAPP to receive future retirement benefits. Just over two weeks ago, Ahold Delhaize`s Stop & Shop chain announced that UFCW Local 1500 in New York City had ratified an agreement to invest $229 million in members` pension plans. The Quincy, Massachusetts grocer is expected to end its participation in the UFCW Local 1500 pension fund and transfer employees of members to the Local 1500 pension plan, a VAPP. The pact includes approximately 8,000 current Stop & Shop workers who are members of UFCW 1500 in Westbury, New York. Federici declined to share details of the agreement the union had reached with Giant, saying the union wanted to wait until Giant workers had an opportunity to review it.
The new contract applies to workers at Giant Food stores in Maryland, Northern Virginia and Washington, D.C. For www.giantfood.com/labornews. The United Food and Commercial Workers, which represents 25,000 employees of the two companies in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, presented preliminary agreements to each group in two separate sessions. Safeway workers were supposed to hold a strike vote, but union and Safeway officials agreed on a provisional contract at 2 a.m. .m .m. On Thursday and members approved it by an overwhelming majority. However, the union says it remains far from Safeway in negotiations and could vote to allow a strike on March 5 if the two sides fail to reach an agreement. “The agreement aims to resolve all of Giant Food`s existing liabilities with respect to the FELRA and MAP plans and to improve the security of pension benefits for associates, as well as reduce financial risks for Giant Food,” said Ahold Delhaize.
“The pension investments announced by Ahold Delhaize in 2020 – including those announced by National, 1500 and today`s announcement – have significantly reduced Ahold Delhaize`s financial exposure to the multi-employer pension plans of its U.S. brands Giant Food and Stop & Shop, and have been achieved thanks to Ahold Delhaize`s strong financial performance to date through Q3 2020, without impact on the 2020 financial perspective. ” said the company. Organizing starts with your colleagues and one of our union organizers! We`re here to help you make your business a better place to work and answer any questions you may have. Fill out the form below to get started. “Look at this neighborhood,” said Elissa Silverman, a member of the D.C at-large council, pointing to the abundance of new construction on the rapidly developing southwest waterfront. “But workers in our city and region are saying, `I can`t afford to live here.` There`s something crazy about it, and we need to change that, and you`re doing it by standing up for fair pay and benefits. Giant is also expected to create a new individual employer plan to cover employee benefits under the combined plan that exceed PBGC`s coverage level after the plan goes bankrupt. In addition, Giant plans to form a new multi-employer plan with Albertsons Cos` Safeway grocery chain to provide excess benefits to certain other combined plan members. Giant said it wants to exercise its opt-out of the plan, which is estimated at about $10 million, over the next few years. The union says Safeway is proposing a three-year wage freeze on new employees in D.C and Maryland on minimum wage. The union also claims that Safeway`s proposal would increase health premiums for workers.
According to the union, the company has also proposed a limit on the number of hours part-time workers can work. The proposed cap – 24 hours per week – would mean that these workers would not be entitled to certain benefits. The pension changes at Giant and Stop & Shop result in a “significant reduction in the risk” of the plan`s deficit and better visibility of annual contributions, Delhaize noted. Approximately 18,000 Giant Food employees, represented by United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Locals 400 and 27, have approved a plan to transition to a variable annuity pension plan (VAPP). Giant`s contract includes 14,100 Giant Food workers in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, including about 2,600 in the Baltimore area. Union officials said the Giant contract guarantees full pension benefits for retirees and current workers, keeps workers` wages against minimum wage increases and expands access to health benefits for part-time workers. “We stood up to Wall Street and won,” P said.
