Happy Easter & a Joyous PassoverHappy Easter & a Joyous Passover Vol. 20, No. 16 -FREE- www.advocatenews.net Published Every Friday 617-387-2200 Friday, April 19, 2019 rida , April 19, 2019 Malden shows its support for Stop & Shop workers By Barbara Taormina O n April 8, Winsight Grocery Business, an information service for the supermarket industry, announced that Ahold Delhaize, which owns Stop & Shop, was their choice for the 2019 Grocery Business of the year in part for its “energized base of thousands of dedicated associates in countless roles companywide.” Three days later, roughly 31,000 of those dedicated associates in Stop & Shop supermarkets throughout the Northeast, including Malden, walked off the job and launched a strike over pay and benefi ts. Stop & Shop and United Food & Commercial Workers International (UFCW), the union that represents the supermarket workers, are now negotiating a new contract with the support of federal mediators, but there hasn’t been much progress. Soon after the strike began, Stop & Shop employees who belong to United Food & Commercial Workers International (UFCW) have been taking part in the ongoing strike outside of the company’s Malden location on Charles Street. Usually the second busiest store in Massachusetts, its parking lot was virtually empty last weekend. (Advocate Photo by Christopher Roberson) Malden residents and elected offi cials reached out to support Stop & Shop workers. Nichole Mossalam, who is active in community and Malden school issues, began putting together a list of nearby grocery stores and options for transportation. Mossalam said the AFL-CIO agreed to print up the information sheets to distribute at the Senior Center and on the picket line. U.S. Sen. Ed Markey, a Malden resident, was at Stop & Shop in Quincy on Monday to assure supermarket workers they would win their fi ght with the company. “Their strike is a strike for pensions, health care, for their wages,” said Markey. “They have to be protected.” Last fall, city offi cials joined Stop & Shop managers for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the Malden store’s extensive renovations that included an expansion of the produce section and a makeover for the deli and meat departments. This week, the City Council unanimously supported a resolution that points out that the company needs to invest in its workers as well as its stores. “It is the sense of the City Council that we support the STOP&SHOP | SEE PAGE 17 Ward 7 welcomes the Easter Bunny By Barbara Taormina end. Kids and parents climbed E aster came a little early this year when the annual Ward 7 Bunny Ride cruised through the neighborhood last weekaboard the springtime float decked out with plenty of eggs for some personal time with the famous rabbit, phoSpring LAWNS FREE $100 COUPON * Fetrilizing * New Shrubs * Mulch & Loam * New Lawns * Tree Work * New Fence * Walls * Patios * Flowers * Shrubs * Junk Removal * Painting CLEAN-UPS GO GREENSince 1979 CUT CHEAP Gogreenerlandscaping.com With Season Sign-Up One Coupon Per Customer FREE ESTIMATES 1-800698-6313 $2.55 GALLON Shown from left to right are City of Malden photographer Paul Hammersley, Ward 7 Councillor Neal Anderson and Mayor Gary Christenson with volunteers from the Ward 7 Neighborhood Association during the annual Easter Bunny ride. tos to mark the occasion and a couple of treats. The event, which started about 10 years ago, was organized by Ward 7 Councillor Neal Anderson and the Ward 7 Neighborhood Association, a group of volunteers who help with out with the annual Santa Parade, the Fourth of July celebration and other Ward 7 events. “It’s an opportunity for the neighborhood to celebrate together,” said Anderson. “There’s a need for neighbors to get together and enjoy what we would call, in my church, fellowship.” Parents of children in the Ferryway and Salemwood Schools received a voice message ahead of time that the Easter Bunny Ride was on the way. And like other important visiting dignitaries, the rabbit arrived with a police escort and a send-off from Mayor Gary Christenson. Many parents came with their cell phones, ready to click and capture the moment. But Anderson also makes sure that BUNNY | SEE PAGE 14 GUTTERS CLEANED
2 Publizr Home