King Kullen meat and seafood workers on strike
The meat and seafood departments at King Kullen grocery stores all across Long Island are on strike this weekend.
One hundred and fifty employees are on strike at the 25 King Kullen locations across Long Island.
Easter weekend is a busy time for grocery stores with customers buying lots of meat and seafood, but there is no one behind the counter.
Union members say they have been experiencing what they say are unfair labor practices.
Over the past few months, they’ve been trying to negotiate new contracts, but the union says the company refused to come to their latest session on Thursday.
“Just sign the contract and we’ll all go back to work,” said King Kullen employee Vinny Cottone. “We got families. We got bills. We want to work.”
“They need to get back to the table so we can get back to work and provide the community with the stuff that they need,” said Russell Neglia, a King Kullen employee. “Because we do have the best meat around, but they don’t want the workers around, obviously.”
King Kullen said in a statement that they “value the men and women who work in our seafood and meat departments and remain committed to negotiating in good faith to reach a fair contract.”
They also apologized for any service disruptions customers may experience.
Union members deferred questions about what terms they are looking for to their lawyers but say they plan to stay on strike until King Kullen comes back to the bargaining table.
