31,000 Stop & Shop workers went on strike in 45 minutes. Deli manager, Kristen Johnson, shares why.

It’s no secret that the current administration would like to shut down all trade unions.

This morning, I received an email from the AFL-CIO. It began:

Stephen,
My name is Kristen Johnson, and I’m a deli manager and shop steward at the Stop & Shop in Somerville, Massachusetts. I am also a member of United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 1445. I want you to know why 31,000 of my fellow Stop & Shop workers across three New England states are on strike.

As a 40+ year Screen Actors Guild member—SAG-AFTRA—I’m also a proud member of AFL-CIO. (Yes, that makes me a teamster.) As of this evening, 31,000 #StopAndShop workers are on strike. You might want to spend a few minutes listening to this podcast to learn why. It’s enlightening. And for millions of American workers, if action isn’t taken soon, it’s a hint of things to come.

Ahold Delhaize, a Dutch retail company is the parent of Stop & Shop. The firm also owns:

Bfresh—founded 2015; 2 stores as of 2019 (MA)
Food Lion—founded 1957; 1,029 stores as of 2019 (DE, GA, KY, MD, NC, PA, SC, TN, VA and WV)
Hannaford—founded 1883; 181 stores as of 2019 (ME, MA, NH, NY and VT)
Giant Food Stores—founded 1923; 175 stores as of 2019, including 145 Giant stores (PA) and 30 Martin’s stores (MD, PA, VA and WV)
Giant Food—founded 1936; 164 stores as of 2019 (DE, DC, MD and VA)
Peapod—founded 1989 delivery service
Stop & Shop—founded 1914; 421 stores as of 2019 (CT, MA, NJ, NY and RI)

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