Page 4 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – Friday, April 19, 2019 Picketing in the rain Stop & Shop strike enters second week By Mark E. Vogler P am Walsh Boucher showed up at the Stop & Shop on Main Street in Saugus on Monday afternoon, hoping to lift the spirits of her co-workers who were picketing in the raindrops. “I had a fall on the ice in earLaw Offices of Terrence W. Kennedy 512 Broadway, Everett • Criminal Defense • Personal Injury • Medical Malpractice Tel: (617) 387-9809 Cell: (617) 308-8178 twkennedylaw@gmail.com 8 Norwood St. Everett (617) 387-9810 www.eight10barandgrille.com Kitchen Hours: Mon-Thurs: 12-10pm Fri-Sat: 12-11pm Sunday: 1pm-10pm Join us for EASTER SUNDAY DINNER Serving our Special Ham Dinner Serving from 1:00 - 10:00 PM Our Regular Menu also available $10 LUNCH Menu! 16 Items to Choose! Served Mon. thru Fri. until 3:30 PM FRIDAY HADDOCK DINNER Prepared Your Way! Includes Two Sides Facebook.com/ advocate.news.ma ly February. Then I had a fall a week later,” said Boucher, who has worked for Stop & Shop for 34 years. “People who have been here a long time should be able to keep their benefits and pensions. I also have five weeks of vacation time that I don’t want taken away,” she said. The strike, which began on Thursday of last week, moved into its second week yesterday. The workers say they are striking to protect their health-care coverage and retirement funds. Business was slow at the store on Monday afternoon, with just a handful of customers shopping inside. Many of them said they were from outof-state or out-of-town residents who were staying in local motels. Several cars that drove through the parking lot and up to Stop & Shop yielded when the strikers asked them to honor the picket line. “The company is trying to cut our vacation time and sick time,” said Joe Boyle, a 61-yearold shop steward who was calling out those customers who proceeded to the store. “A full-time worker gets nine sick days. They want to cut it to five. They don’t want to do pensions anymore. At the same time, they want to increase our health-care costs. No wage inGIVING IT HER ALL: Pam Walsh Boucher, who has worked 34 years for Stop & Shop, joined the picket line in front of the Saugus store on Monday afternoon, even though she’s recovering from a stroke she suffered in February – a week after she fell on the ice. FEELING UNAPPRECIATED: Joe Boyle, 61, of Lynn, pickets outside the Stop & Shop on Main Street in Saugus on Monday. (Saugus Photos by Mark E. Vogler). creases. They just want to do a flat bonus,” he said. Boyle noted that about 75 part-time and full-time employees work at the Saugus store. Kelly Barresi, a graduate of the Saugus High School Class of 2000, said she has worked DON’T CROSS ME: Kelly Barresi (left) and Dominic DiPesa, asked potential customers to stay and not cross the picket line. the last 20 years at Stop & Shop. “It’s been my one and only job and I miss not being in there,” she said. “You know, this is just not about the employee. It’s about the future. It’s about the shopping experience,” Barresi said. “It’s killing me not to be in the building right now,” she said.
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