Shaw’s/Supervalu Strikers Rally In Boston At End Of 60-Mile March

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.laborradio.org/node/13591

Submitted by Doug Cunningham on May 27, 2010 - 4:30pm
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By Doug Cunningham

: “Boycott Shaw’s! Boycott Shaw’s!”

Three hundred workers in Massachusetts are in the thirteenth week of their strike against Shaw’s Warehouse, owned by the Supervalu national grocery chain. At a Boston rally following a 60 mile march for a just contract warehouse worker James Gaudette voiced the striker’s resolve to prevail against a big corporation trying to impose cuts on a small group of workers.

: “Three hundred warehouse workers. They attacked us. Three hundred warehouse workers. Multi-multi billion dollar company. They thought we were weak. Are we weak? (Crowd: No!) Are we fightin’ ‘em hard? (Crowd: Yes!)Will we continue to fight them hard? Will our brothers and sisters help us fight them hard?”

Michael McKeon is a Shaw’s Warehouse striker.

: “They wanted to bring temp workers in and lay us off. They wanted us to absorb the entire increase in the health care this year. They wanted to eliminate a lot of the benefits for new hires.”

McKeon says being on strike is hard but the fight is important because Supervalu doesn’t respect the Shaw’s workers or their right to collectively bargain.

: “I’m sittin’ out here with no health care at the moment with an eight-month pregnant wife and three kids. Supervalu across the country I believe is a little under half union. It just seems like they want to break that up.”