The strike against Associated Grocers in Pembroke by the local Teamsters Union is continuing after a week, with no public signs that it will end soon.
Scores of picketers continue to stand at the entrance to the huge company warehouse, as has been the case since the strike began Nov. 4 when contract talks broke down in a dispute over pensions. Their parked cars often line both sides of Kline Way, a short access road from Route 3 to the warehouse.
Associated Grocers is continuing to operate the Pembroke facility with non-union personnel. Strikers do not appear to be blocking access to and from the building by delivery trucks and other vehicles, but shout disapproval as they go by.
There have been no issues of violence or vandalism, said Pembroke Police Chief Dawn Shea. The department has two detail officers at the site 24/7, contracted by Associated Grocers.
“Things are going as well as we were hoping they would,” Shea said.
The biggest issue that the department had in preparing for this, the chief said, is the lack of recent strikes in New Hampshire to study. “It was very difficult to get any guidance.” She ended up talking to police in Plympton, Mass., where a 2022 strike at a Sysco grocery warehouse resulted in numerous arrests.
Members of Teamsters Local 633 have been handing leaflets to shoppers at the Sully’s supermarket in Allenstown, about four miles from the warehouse, explaining the strike and asking them to avoid shopping at Sully’s, which is owned by Associated Grocers. The company also owns the Sully’s market in Goffstown, Vista Market in Laconia and Berlin Marketplace, as well as several markets in Vermont.
“Quite a few have known about (the strike), know what we’re doing,” said Damian Carmody of Candia, who has worked in the warehouse for about nine months, about the messaging at Sully’s in Allenstown. “We’re here mostly to explain why we’re doing this.”
Associated Grocers is a co-operative, with roughly 1,000 independent stores as members throughout New England and New York. It allows bulk purchases and deliveries of items from canned goods to meat to frozen food and cigarettes, saving members money.
There have been subtle signs of the strike at Danis Supermarkets, a Pittsfield staple since 1903. Since owner Mitul Patel bought the store six years ago, it has received products from Associated Grocers Northeast’s warehouse in Pembroke.
After workers went on strike last week, Patel has worried about what a prolonged strike may hold for his business. Despite not experiencing any shortages in any specific product areas, delivery times have been delayed by one to two hours. Patel noted that Associated Grocers has communicated regularly with him and notified him of delays. “We need the delivery on time, because we don’t want to lose customers,” Patel said.
The Teamsters Union represents about 255 people at the facility, including drivers, warehouse workers and maintenance personnel. It operates under five-year contracts, the latest of which ran out this month.
The major stumbling block in negotiations, said Keith Judge, business agent for the union, is that Associated Grocers wants to end the company pension and replace it with a 401K savings plan. Such changes have been common in American industry in recent decades because they are much cheaper for companies, but critics say they often result in less money for workers.
Associated Grocers was started in Concord in 1946 among independent grocery stores that pooled their purchasing power to better compete with chain supermarkets. In 2006, it built a central distribution warehouse and headquarters on Route 3 in Pembroke, which has since been expanded. The company renamed itself Associated Grocers Northeast this year as they expand beyond New England.
Monitor reporter Alexander Rapp contributed to this report.
