Lexington Good Foods Co-op employees approve first contract with store since joining union
Employees at Good Foods Co-op announced that they have ratified a union contract that guarantees annual raises and increased food safety, among other benefits.
The first contract was approved with “overwhelming support,” according to a news release.
Good Foods Co-op, at 455 Southland Drive, is a grocery store that also has a popular cafe and buffet hot bar that serves locally grown food as well as vegetarian and vegan options.
The new contract includes food safety protections for customers and employees, guaranteed yearly pay increases, discipline for cause only, a right to representation, increased employer contributions for health insurance including dental and vision, additional holidays paid at time and a half, and formation of a labor-management committee, according to the release.
Employees at the 50-year-old cooperative, which focuses on organic, bulk and locally grown goods, voted to form a union on April 20; the co-op subsequently recognized the union. They joined United Food and Commercial Workers Local 227, which helped negotiate the agreement with management.
“Workers and management alike love our co-op. We appreciate our connection to the community which being a co-op affords us,” said Lauren Murrell, Good Foods Co-op employee and union negotiating committee member, in a statement. “I’m excited for us to begin a new chapter in workplace sustainability at our co-op, in the form of this contract workers and management came together to create, and I’m thrilled that my co-workers voted to ratify this contract!”
Good Foods general manager Robert Walker said the co-op was excited to reach the agreement. “The three-year contract in place we feel will be beneficial to the success of the coop,” he said.
“From the start of this campaign the workers at Good Foods Co-op had a clear message, they need respect in the workplace,” said UFCW 227 President Bob Blair in the news release. “Workers without a union contract can be disciplined and fired for any or no reason at all, going forward at Good Foods Co-op the people who work to keep the dream of this cooperative alive can feel confident to speak up, knowing their union has their back.”
This story was originally published October 26, 2023 at 10:36 AM.
