As I was driving home from school Thursday, I couldn’t help but notice the large group of people standing on the side of the road outside of Stop and Shop with signs saying, “On Strike.” My curiosity peaked  and I wondered what they were on strike for. Assuming my mom would know, I asked her. She seemed somewhat shocked and said, “I’m not sure.” I started to look into it and discovered that this was caused by an ongoing contract dispute.  

Union leaders have been representing the Stop and Shop workers since February 14th. The company proposed to cut workers’ take-home pay and benefits. Stop and Shop spokeswoman Jennifer Brogan spoke out about their disappointment over the strike disrupting business. Workers claim that the company is demanding unreasonable cuts in their wage and benefits. The workers are angry and argue that the company does not recognize their hard work. They are also unhappy at the fact that Stop and Shop is replacing real customer service with self-checkout machines, which may be why Stop and Shop is seeing the need for wage cuts.  

31,000 workers relying on their next pay-check are left in dismay after this troubling news. However, workers should not have their benefits revoked from them. Especially health benefits which are crucial to employees. These employees should be compensated after arguably unfair labor practices have put them in a heap of stress. It is hard to tell whether the strike will be successful in yielding a resolution. Management of Stop and Shop have stated that they remain ready to negotiate, yet this may not mean that a decision will be made anytime soon.