255 Teamsters Strike New England Grocery Warehouse Over Pension

More than 255 warehouse workers walked off the job at Associated Grocers of New England's distribution center in Pembroke, New Hampshire, earlier this week, cutting deliveries to more than 600 independent grocery stores across the Northeast just ahead of Thanksgiving.

The strikers belong to Teamsters Local 633. Their employer, AGNE, is a wholesale grocery cooperative founded in 1945 that supplies independent supermarkets throughout the region and also runs 14 supermarkets of its own — nine in Vermont and five in New Hampshire.

The contract fight broke down over wages and benefits. One issue dominates the rest: AGNE's proposal to pull out of the New England Teamsters Pension Fund.

What does the strike actually block?

Plenty. Local 633 says it will keep a picket line outside the Pembroke warehouse around the clock, seven days a week, until members win what the union calls "a fair contract." No delivery trucks are leaving the premises, according to the union.

That choke point reaches hundreds of small retailers. Vermont's Derby Village Store wrote on social media: "Hundreds of independent grocers across New England have lost supply this week."

The Leverett Village Co-op in Massachusetts backed the strikers while warning customers about gaps on the shelf. "We will try our best to keep the store stocked," the co-op wrote. "We hope that AGNE and the union will reach a suitable compromise soon, but we will be out of some usual products."

The disruption could extend past retail. Buffalo Mountain Market, a food co-op in Hardwick, Vermont, warned that delivery interruptions could hit local food banks and food pantries that rely on regular shipments, and it encouraged direct donations to cover any shortfall.

The takeaway: one warehouse's loading dock now controls the holiday inventory of hundreds of stores and the food supply of regional charities.

Why is the pension the dealbreaker?

Union leaders frame the walkout as a defense of retirement benefits workers spent decades earning.

"After months of negotiations, management still refuses to recognize the value of workers who keep their operation running," said Jeff Padellaro, secretary-treasurer of Local 633. "Our members are sending a clear message: keep the pension or no contract."

Keith Judge, a union business agent, went further. "I could not be prouder of our members," he said. "They are standing together in the pouring rain, defending their families and protecting the pension they earned through years of hard work. Mike Violette's greed will not divide this membership or weaken our resolve."

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters has thrown its weight behind the local. "We demand that AGNE end its attacks on our members' pensions and return to the bargaining table with a serious proposal," said Tom Erickson, director of the Teamsters Warehouse Division. "We will not back down until our members win a fair agreement that protects their retirement."

How is the company responding?

AGNE President and CEO Mike Violette says the union, not the company, walked away. "We are disappointed that negotiations have stalled," he said in a statement, "but AGNE leaders remain at the table and hope for a resolution to this contract dispute."

Violette also pointed to the calendar. "We recognize the Thanksgiving holidays are quickly approaching, which is a busy time of year for AGNE and its employees," he said. "However, AGNE has a contingency in place to ensure that we move into the holiday season with certainty of service to meet the expectations and needs of our customers, our vendors, and our stores."

He did not detail what that contingency involves. But AGNE disclosed one piece of its plan: it is now hiring workers to permanently replace the striking employees. The company said the jobs offer "exceptional benefits."

That hiring move raises the stakes. Permanent replacement threats often lengthen strikes rather than shorten them, and with no trucks moving and no talks scheduled publicly, both sides appear dug in as the holiday shopping season starts.

The bottom line: unless AGNE reverses its pension fund exit or the union blinks, New England shoppers — and food pantries — should expect thinning shelves through Thanksgiving.