First Union has begun targeting New World supermarkets that will only negotiate individual membership rather than a collective agreement, starting with Albany New World.
“We’re basically upping the pressure, and we’re just going to continue to increase our pressure on that employer until he sits down and negotiates with us in good faith,” said Bill Bradford, national organiser, First Union, according to whom workers were unlikely to strike because they feared losing their wages. The difference between unionised and non-unionised New World stores, he added, was often more than $2 an hour.
“We refute any suggestion that we are unwilling to negotiate, this is simply not true,” said Foodstuffs spokeswoman Antoinette Laird, who also criticised the union’s decision to threaten Christmas shoppers at Albany, underlining that there were more constructive ways to reach an agreement.
