Sen. Slap Urges Stop & Shop to Continue Hazard Pay For Store Employees
WEST HARTFORD – Citing the ongoing nature of the coronavirus pandemic and the mandated public health guidelines still in place across the state, state Senator Derek Slap (D-West Hartford) today joined his Senate Democratic Caucus leadership in urging the Stop & Shop chain of grocery stores to continue the COVID-19 hazard pay it had been providing its frontline workers since April, but which Stop & Shop just cancelled on Independence Day, July 4.
“There are Stop & Shops in West Hartford, Bloomfield, Windsor, Hartford and all over the region that still require patrons and employees to wear face masks and engage in social distancing and to walk one-way down the aisles. Carts are wiped down and they have dividers between customers and checkout clerks. They’re taking all of these precautions for a reason: the coronavirus continues to be a threat in Connecticut. And if it’s still a threat, then their employees should continue to receive what is essentially hazard pay for putting themselves at constant risk so the rest of us can eat,” Sen. Slap said. “Back in late May, Stop & Shop corporate officials asked federal and state governments to declare their employees to be ‘extended first responders’ and ‘emergency personnel’ because of the important work they do. That was the right thing to do. But if the coronavirus is still infecting and killing people in Connecticut, this hazard pay program should continue.”
Senate President Martin Looney (D-New Haven) and Majority Leader Bob Duff (D-Norwalk) today took issue with Stop & Shop’s corporate decision to prematurely end the surplus pay program for its employees, which was implemented at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. They said while transmission of the coronavirus has declined in Connecticut, COVID-19 transmissions continue across the state to this day, and that puts grocery store workers on the pandemic front line.
In April, Stop & Shop implemented a 10 percent “appreciation pay” increase for employees in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey and Rhode Island; that program ended on July 4.
Last year, Sen. Slap joined striking Stop & Shop workers on the picket line when Stop & Shop proposed a new labor contract requiring greater employee contributions to healthcare, changes to Sunday premium pay, and a reduction in pension benefits for new employees.
The Stop & Shop Supermarket Company, headquartered in Quincy, Massachusetts, has $13 billion in annual sales and employs 170,000 people in more than 400 stores throughout New York, New England and New Jersey. Stop & Shop controls 21% of the grocery store market in both Connecticut and Massachusetts.
Sen. Slap is urging individuals who believe that the Stop & Shop employee appreciation pay program should continue to speak with their local Stop & Shop store manager, or to call Stop & Shop’s corporate customer relations department at 1-800-767-7772, Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Sen. Anwar Urges Stop & Shop to Continue Hazard Pay For Store Employees
Sen. Anwar Urges Stop & Shop to Continue Hazard Pay For Store Employees
SOUTH WINDSOR – Citing the ongoing nature of the coronavirus pandemic and the mandated public health guidelines still in place across the state, state Senator Saud Anwar (D-South Windsor) today joined her Senate Democratic Caucus leadership in urging the Stop & Shop chain of grocery stores to continue the COVID-19 hazard pay it had been providing its frontline workers since April, but which Stop & Shop just cancelled on Independence Day, July 4.
“The hard workers of Stop & Shop have made continued sacrifices amid the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Sen. Anwar. “The threat of this virus is not over, and yet these workers continue risking exposure to themselves and their families to keep our communities fed. Stop & Shop should do the right thing and restore this pay for its employees.”
Senate President Martin Looney (D-New Haven) and Majority Leader Bob Duff (D-Norwalk) today took issue with Stop & Shop’s corporate decision to prematurely end the surplus pay program for its employees, which was implemented at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. They said while transmission of the coronavirus has declined in Connecticut, COVID-19 transmissions continue across the state to this day, and that puts grocery store workers on the pandemic front line.
In April, Stop & Shop implemented a 10 percent “appreciation pay” increase for employees in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey and Rhode Island; that program ended on July 4.
Last year, Sen. Anwar joined striking Stop & Shop workers on the picket line when Stop & Shop proposed a new labor contract requiring greater employee contributions to healthcare, changes to Sunday premium pay, and a reduction in pension benefits for new employees.
The Stop & Shop Supermarket Company, headquartered in Quincy, Massachusetts, has $13 billion in annual sales and employs 170,000 people in more than 400 stores throughout New York, New England and New Jersey. Stop & Shop controls 21% of the grocery store market in both Connecticut and Massachusetts.
Sen. Anwar urged individuals who believe that the Stop & Shop employee appreciation pay program should continue to speak with their local Stop & Shop store manager, or to call Stop & Shop’s corporate customer relations department at 1-800-767-7772, Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Senator McCrory Calls For Stop & Shop To Continue Hazard Pay For Store Employees
Senator McCrory Calls For Stop & Shop To Continue Hazard Pay For Store Employees
State Senator Doug McCrory (D-Hartford) joined Senate Democratic Caucus leadership in calling for grocery store chain Stop & Shop to continue the COVID-19 hazard pay it had been providing its frontline workers since April, but which Stop & Shop just cancelled on Independence Day, July 4. While transmission of the virus has declined in Connecticut since the pandemic’s initial apex, COVID-19 transmissions continue across the state today, continuing to put grocery store workers on the pandemic front line.
“Grocery store workers have faced risks to their own health and that of their families to keep the doors open so we can feed our families. They are part of a community of frontline workers who we owe an incredible amount of support and gratitude toward,” said Sen. McCrory. “Stop & Shop should continue to support their employees who are still risking their health and safety, while it has seen sales increases during the pandemic.”
Stop & Shop implemented a program it referred to as “appreciation pay” in five states across the Northeast in April, providing employees in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey and Rhode Island with 10 percent pay increases. That program has concluded as of July 4 and no further pay increases are currently expected to be given to employees.
According to a 2020 report by the Center for Economic and Policy Research, more than one in four workers employed at grocery, convenience, and drug stores are ages 50 and above. Additionally, Black and Hispanic workers make up close to one-third of individuals employed at these stores. Individuals in these communities are particularly vulnerable to COVID-19 due to advanced age, higher risk of severe illness, and health disparities that impact communities of color.
Sen. McCrory encourages individuals who believe that the Stop & Shop employee appreciation pay program should continue to talk with their local Stop & Shop store manager, or to call Stop & Shop’s corporate customer relations department at 1-800-767-7772, Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Looney & Duff Decry Stop & Shop Prematurely Ending Surplus Pay Program Amid COVID-19
Looney & Duff Decry Stop & Shop Prematurely Ending Surplus Pay Program Amid COVID-19
HARTFORD – Today, Senate President Pro Tempore Martin M. Looney (D-New Haven) and Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff (D-Norwalk) decried grocery store chain Stop & Shop’s decision to prematurely end a surplus pay program implemented at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. While transmission of the virus has declined in Connecticut since the pandemic’s initial apex, COVID-19 transmissions continue across the state today, continuing to put grocery store workers on the pandemic front line.
Stop & Shop implemented a program it referred to as “appreciation pay” in five states across the Northeast in April, providing employees in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey and Rhode Island with 10 percent pay increases. That program has concluded as of July 4 and no further pay increases are currently expected to be given to employees.
“Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, grocery store workers have effectively kept our society going. They’ve faced risks to health and safety to ensure members of the community could access food and other essential products,” said Sen. Looney. “After months of risk, workers have suffered significant health consequences from COVID-19. Since the risk they face is not over, the additional compensation they deserve in light of that risk must continue as a matter of fairness. Stop & Shop has reported sales increases during the COVID-19 pandemic; the least it can do is support the employees who risked themselves and their families to keep the doors open.”
“Stop & Shop employees deserve true hazard pay while they continue to risk exposure to COVID-19. It’s clear the company labeled its program ‘appreciation pay’ so it could end the pay increases as soon as the coast was clear, even as the virus clearly has not disappeared,” said Sen. Duff. “Despite the fact that rising COVID-19 infections in more than 60 percent of the country represent a continued threat to our communities, Stop & Shop opted to end this pay program employees deserve – and over a holiday weekend spurring high sales, to boot. The hazard and risk of COVID-19 is not over, and Stop & Shop should share its financial gains with the employees who ensured it could achieve them.”
Duff Announces Connecticut Humanities Grant to Stepping Stones Museum
Duff Announces Connecticut Humanities Grant to Stepping Stones Museum
NORWALK – Today, Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff (D-Norwalk) announced that Connecticut Humanities recently awarded $226,461 to 14 humanities organizations in Connecticut, including Stepping Stones Museum for Children in Norwalk. Stepping Stones Museum received a Project Planning and Implementation Grant of $25,000 for its “We (Heart) America!” exhibit. Project Planning and Implementation Grants support projects that help further understanding and appreciation for human history, culture, values, and beliefs.
Connecticut Humanities (CTH) is an independent, nonprofit, publicly supported foundation, established in 1973 through an initial planning grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. CTH connects people to the humanities through grants, partnerships, and collaborative programs. Gifts from private sources for CTH projects, administration and program development, State funds, and additional Federal matching funds, provide further support.
“Stepping Stones Museum is an incredible resource for children in our community,” said Senator Bob Duff (D-Norwalk). “Through their many exhibits, programs, and camps, young children engage in experiments, projects, and learning experiences that use their imagination and spark their curiosity. I’m thrilled that this generous grant from CT Humanities will support Stepping Stones in providing children with another exhibit that encourages discovery and a love of learning.”
“Stepping Stones Museum for Children is grateful for the support of CT Humanities and Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff’s office,” said Rhonda Kiest, President and CEO of the award-winning, Norwalk-based children’s museum. “This Public Presentation Planning Grant will help the museum complete the planning process for a new immersive, exhibit experience tentatively called ‘We (Heart) America!’ This exhibit will allow children to explore everyday acts of democracy, civic engagement and citizenship through carefully-developed storylines that draw from the diversity of our state and country’s perspectives, people, places and innovations. The exhibit will also serve as a statewide platform to enable our youngest community members to learn from, and about, the diversity of the American experience and gain knowledge about and a greater appreciation for civic engagement and how everyone can make positive changes in their community,” said Kiest.
Looney & Duff Decry Stop & Shop Prematurely Ending Surplus Pay Program Amid COVID-19
Looney & Duff Decry Stop & Shop Prematurely Ending Surplus Pay Program Amid COVID-19
HARTFORD – Today, Senate President Pro Tempore Martin M. Looney (D-New Haven) and Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff (D-Norwalk) decried grocery store chain Stop & Shop’s decision to prematurely end a surplus pay program implemented at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. While transmission of the virus has declined in Connecticut since the pandemic’s initial apex, COVID-19 transmissions continue across the state today, continuing to put grocery store workers on the pandemic front line.
Stop & Shop implemented a program it referred to as “appreciation pay” in five states across the Northeast in April, providing employees in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey and Rhode Island with 10 percent pay increases. That program has concluded as of July 4 and no further pay increases are currently expected to be given to employees.
“Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, grocery store workers have effectively kept our society going. They’ve faced risks to health and safety to ensure members of the community could access food and other essential products,” said Sen. Looney. “After months of risk, workers have suffered significant health consequences from COVID-19. Since the risk they face is not over, the additional compensation they deserve in light of that risk must continue as a matter of fairness. Stop & Shop has reported sales increases during the COVID-19 pandemic; the least it can do is support the employees who risked themselves and their families to keep the doors open.”
“Stop & Shop employees deserve true hazard pay while they continue to risk exposure to COVID-19. It’s clear the company labeled its program ‘appreciation pay’ so it could end the pay increases as soon as the coast was clear, even as the virus clearly has not disappeared,” said Sen. Duff. “Despite the fact that rising COVID-19 infections in more than 60 percent of the country represent a continued threat to our communities, Stop & Shop opted to end this pay program employees deserve – and over a holiday weekend spurring high sales, to boot. The hazard and risk of COVID-19 is not over, and Stop & Shop should share its financial gains with the employees who ensured it could achieve them.”
Sen. Osten Urges Stop & Shop to Continue Hazard Pay For Store Employees
Sen. Osten Urges Stop & Shop to Continue Hazard Pay For Store Employees
SPRAGUE – Citing the ongoing nature of the coronavirus pandemic and the mandated public health guidelines still in place across the state, state Senator Cathy Osten (D-Sprague) today joined her Senate Democratic Caucus leadership in urging the Stop & Shop chain of grocery stores to continue the COVID-19 hazard pay it had been providing its frontline workers since April, but which Stop & Shop just cancelled on Independence Day, July 4.
“There are Stop & Shops in Norwich, Uncasville, Groton, Waterford and East Lyme that still mandate face masks and social distancing and one-way aisles and that have dividers between customers and checkout clerks. And they have all of those precautions in place because the coronavirus continues to be a threat in Connecticut. And if it’s still a threat, then these essential workers still deserve hazard pay for putting themselves at risk,” Sen. Osten said. “There’s a reason why, just a few weeks ago, that Stop & Shop corporate officials demanded that federal and state governments declare their employees to be ‘extended first responders’ or ‘emergency personnel.’ That was the right thing to do then. But their status hasn’t changed, and the coronavirus is still infecting and killing people in Connecticut, so this hazard pay program should continue.”
Senate President Martin Looney (D-New Haven) and Majority Leader Bob Duff (D-Norwalk) today took issue with Stop & Shop’s corporate decision to prematurely end the surplus pay program for its employees, which was implemented at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. They said while transmission of the coronavirus has declined in Connecticut, COVID-19 transmissions continue across the state to this day, and that puts grocery store workers on the pandemic front line.
In April, Stop & Shop implemented a 10 percent “appreciation pay” increase for employees in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey and Rhode Island; that program ended on July 4.
Last year, Sen. Osten joined striking Stop & Shop workers on the picket line when Stop & Shop proposed a new labor contract requiring greater employee contributions to healthcare, changes to Sunday premium pay, and a reduction in pension benefits for new employees.
The Stop & Shop Supermarket Company, headquartered in Quincy, Massachusetts, has $13 billion in annual sales and employs 170,000 people in more than 400 stores throughout New York, New England and New Jersey. Stop & Shop controls 21% of the grocery store market in both Connecticut and Massachusetts.
Sen. Osten urged individuals who believe that the Stop & Shop employee appreciation pay program should continue to speak with their local Stop & Shop store manager, or to call Stop & Shop’s corporate customer relations department at 1-800-767-7772, Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.