BY RICK PUSIAK
The lights may stay on after all at the Loeb grocery store on Errington Street in Chelmsford.
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Company officials had informed the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union back in mid-September that the outlet was going to be shut down at the end of October.
The union was in the process of hammering out a bargaining proposal for a new contract when word came down the store was closing.
A Â?save our storeÂ? committee made up of unionized employees was formed however and a tentative 48-month collective agreement was hammered out late last week.
The pact will be voted on during a special meeting scheduled for 9:30 pm Thursday at the Northland Hotel.
Canadian director of the union, Robin McArthur, said the tentative agreement, which will replace the contract that expired last month, was arrived at after some give and take.
Â?There was a number of suggestions that we made with respect to the operation of the store,Â? said the union chief.
Â?They were only recommendations. We canÂ?t force the company to follow our suggestions on the way which the store should operate, however, they have indicated to us that they intend to make some changes in the way in which they marketÂ?I think that those things will go a long way.Â?
McArthur said there would still be reasonable and good employment in the store.
There will be no layoffs and those who wish to remain at the outlet under the terms of the new agreement will be allowed to do so, he said.
Fifty people are employed at the grocery store including management. Forty-six of the workers are card carrying union members.
Details of the tentative contract wonÂ?t be released until after ThursdayÂ?s secret ballot vote.
But McArthur said the company was appreciative about the unionÂ?s non-combative stance.
Â?As a matter of fact they said so,Â? said the union director.
Â?It was a search for a solution to an economic problem as opposed to who was the toughest. ThereÂ?s no question that we could put that company, in that store, out of business. If it came to who could shove who the furthest, thereÂ?s no question that we could shove the company further than they could shove us. But at the end of the day we would have shoved everybody off the cliff including our members.Â?
The Â?save our store committeeÂ?, which includes members of the union bargaining committee is recommending acceptance.
Even if the employees vote in favour of the deal the final outcome may depend on discussions between the Landlord of the strip mall and Loeb officials.
There could be word as soon as tomorrow (Wednesday) on whether an accord was reached between those two parties.
However, McArthur said the landlord has been working hard to hammer out a deal.
Â?To say the least itÂ?s a very different set of negotiations because there are three parties involved,Â? said McArthur.
Â?WeÂ?ve laid the foundation, through negotiations, for the store to remain open from our point of viewÂ?the other thing is if the store remains open, the mall, will still have an anchor and the other tenants of the mall will not be left high and dry.Â?
McArthur called the latest development a victory for the people of Chelmsford saying a positive vote Thursday night will mean two supermarket options for consumers.
If the Loeb closed shoppers would be left only with BriereÂ?s Your Independent Grocer (YIG) in the Place Bonaventure Mall.
The initial closure announcement followed months of low sales volume at the Errington Street location.
A proactive approach by the Retail, Wholesale and Department has saved many a union job at grocery stores in this city.
Several months ago the union offered up the idea of a lower wage structure to keep the cash registers plugged in and the doors open at the Loeb on Brady Street and the company agreed.
The Loeb on Lasalle was just recently converted into a Super C that features discount prices.
At the Loeb Four Corners store, converted into a Super C some time ago, the company is happy with the results.
