Teamsters on strike at AGNE ARNIE ALPERT photo
By Arnie Alpert, Active with the Activists
Arnie Alpert spent decades as a community organizer/educator in NH movements for social justice and peace. Officially retired from the American Friends Service Committee since 2020, he keeps his hands (and feet) in the activist world while writing about past and present social movements. You can reach him at arnie.alpert@indepthnh.org.
PEMBROKE—When I arrived at the Teamsters picket line at Associated Grocers Northeast in Pembroke on Wednesday, three dozen union members, on strike since November 5, were walking in a circle at the top of the company’s driveway. Some carried signs reading “Hands Off Our Pension” and “AFGE Teamsters on Strike.” Two members had brought their dogs. Someone tossed a football. Lively music was in the air. Three police officers stood by with not much to do but sometimes having friendly conversations with the strikers. The mood was pretty much the same the day before.
Every five minutes or so, a car trying to exit the AGNE site would pull up to the picket line, or a tractor trailer truck would pull up to enter. Steve, a big guy with a megaphone, would look at his watch. After about a minute, he would shout, “Let ‘em in” or “Let ‘em out.” The picket line would part, the vehicle, driven by replacement truckers and warehouse workers, would drive through, and the marching would resume.
The mood was friendly, but the purpose of the picketers was dead serious. After months of negotiation, AFGE’s management was still trying to take away the workers’ treasured pension plan. Traci St. Clair, a Teamsters business agent I had met on the line the previous Friday, told me, “The members had turned down the company’s offer, and we had pre-ratified an offer to give to the company, which they then turned down. So, once they turned it down, the the members had already authorized a strike, so they walked out.”
Traci said I should talk to Keith Judge for details.
In a statement issued November 7, AGNE said it “remains prepared to continue discussions and work toward reaching an agreement.”
There are other issues, too, but retirement security is at the heart of the dispute. One worker I talked to told me he’s been at the company for 45 years, during which time he’s been a shop steward and union negotiator on prior contracts. He plans to retire in a few months, he said, but was picketing in support of the younger workers. He wore so many union pins on his jacket that he resembled a highly decorated military officer. “Fix the pension so it works for both sides,” he said.
Other picketers told me they had been on the job at AGNE only a few months or a few years. Everyone I asked said it was their first time going on strike.
Associated Grocers of New Hampshire grew out of a cooperative of independent stores that formed in 1946 to better compete with supermarket chains. From Concord, it moved to Manchester in 1956. Reflecting its regional growth, it rebranded as Associated Grocers of New England in 1969. The company’s next big move was construction of a new facility in Pembroke in 2006. Since June, it’s been Associated Grocers Northeast. “While our name is evolving to match the broader region we serve, our mission remains unchanged: to support independent retailers, strengthen local communities, and uphold integrity, collaboration, and excellence in everything we do,” the company’s website says.
Since 1989, when AGNE bought three stores in southern New Hampshire, it has been in the retail sector, as well. It now owns 14 “corporate stores” in New Hampshire and Vermont, including Vista Foods in Laconia, Sully’s in Goffstown and Allenstown, and the Berlin Marketplace.
The Teamsters have represented AGNE for decades, but this is the first strike since the ‘70s. After a week, it appears to be having an impact on the independent grocery stores that are AGNE’s customers. Richardson’s Market in downtown Portsmouth posted a note to its customers on its Facebook page on November 8, saying, “You may notice empty shelves or missing favorites. Our distributor, Associated Grocers, is affected by a strike over fair wages and pensions. We stand with the workers who keep our community fed, and we’re sourcing local alternatives to keep shelves stocked.”
The Marshfield Cooperative at the Marshfield Village Store in Vermont posted a statement the same day, saying, “We are committed to avoiding the purchase of products distributed through AGNE using replacement labor during the strike.”
Yes, replacement workers, generally called an uglier name by strikers. AGNE’s own social media posts are advertising for drivers and warehouse workers as “permanent replacements.” “Strike conditions exist,” their announcement adds.
In addition to the round-the-clock picketing, strikers have been leafleting at AGNE’s corporate stores and those owned or operated by board members urging customers to boycott. “Take your business somewhere else,” their flyer says. “Spend your money with businesses that support working people.”
The mood on the picket line was far more contentious on my first visit, last Friday. A negotiating session that day had failed when company reps refused to join union reps and a federal mediator at the table. Drivers of cars and trucks were being taunted with insults, many middle fingers raised by picketers. A car believed to be occupied by a company lawyer drew event more reaction. Later that afternoon, state police arrested Teamsters business agent Keith Judge, apparently for obstructing a truck driven by a replacement driver.
Judge serves as the union’s chief spokesperson during the strike. I finally caught up with him on Wednesday afternoon. He didn’t want to talk about the arrest incident, just the ongoing strike. “There’s not going to be a contract without the pension, and that’s what we’re out here fighting for,” he said.
According to Judge, truck traffic in and out of the warehouse is down from 60 or 70 trucks a day to about 20. Stores are getting food “full of maggots,” he said, and the company is refusing to take returns. “They’re really not servicing the customers like they should be, or like our people would be doing. And at the end of the day, this could all be resolved if they just back away the attack on the pension.”
With Thanksgiving approaching, pressure on the company could grow. Mike Violette, the company’s president, said they have a plan in place to “move into the holiday season with certainty of service to meet the expectations and needs of our customers, our vendors, and our stores.” The union says it has a healthy strike fund and a health insurance plan that will continue to benefit members while the strike goes on. All the workers I spoke to said they’d rather be working than picketing, but that won’t happen without a settlement. “They voted 98% to authorize a strike,” Judge said. “So this is their decision. I’m sort of their mouthpiece.”
Strikers resolve they’ll continue to picket, 24 hours a day, until AGNE agrees to respect their pension.