Local 1445 of the United Food and Commercial Workers International, which represents about 10,000 workers at Stop & Shop supermarkets in Massachusetts, Maine and New Hampshire, gave its leaders the go-ahead to call a strike after negotiations in Providence failed to produce an agreement Saturday. Rhode Island workers have not yet voted.

PROVIDENCE — One of the five locals of a union that represents Stop & Shop workers in New England voted on Sunday to authorize a strike after their three-year contract expired at midnight Saturday.

Local 1445 of the United Food and Commercial Workers International, which represents about 10,000 workers at Stop & Shop supermarkets in Massachusetts, Maine and New Hampshire, gave its leaders the go-ahead to call a strike after negotiations in Providence failed to produce an agreement Saturday.

Talks will resume Tuesday, national UFCW spokeswoman Amy Ritter said Sunday.

Rhode Island workers at Stop & Shop are represented by UFCW Local 328, which has not yet called a vote on whether to authorize a strike.

The Associated Press reported Local 1445's outcome from Randolph, Massachusetts, where voting took place. Leaders have asked members to keep working while negotiations continue.

An update posted Sunday on the Stop & Shop website said the company was “continuing to negotiate in good faith” and was “committed to reaching a resolution as quickly as possible.”

Saying it is the only unionized supermarket chain in New England, the company said full-time Stop & Shop associates “are among the highest paid food retail workers in the region, and we are working hard to reach strong new contracts that will continue to provide Stop & Shop associates with competitive wages and affordable health care for eligible associates.”

A news release from the union’s Washington headquarters on Thursday said that Stop & Shop’s proposals since negotiations began on Jan. 14 “have only cut workers’ benefits, despite its parent company, Ahold Delhaize, netting $74 billion in sales last year and authorizing over $1 billion in stock buybacks of its shareholders.”

The company update mentioned that it “has committed up to $2 billion to upgrade our stores over the next several years to better serve our customers and communities as we also lower prices and expand opportunities for our associates.”

— dnaylor@providencejournal.com

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