After what union leaders call a record turn-out, members of the United Food & Commercial Workers union overwhelmingly voted to ratify the provisions in their contract following the company's bankruptcy.
- Midstate voted 71% in favor of the provisions
- Rochester voted 77% in favor of the provisions
- Buffalo voted 81% in favor of the provisions
- Olean/Wellsville/Bradford voted 79% in favor of the provisions
When Tops filed for bankruptcy the company decided it wouldn’t pay the full contribution of their employees’ pension funds. Since bankruptcy was filed pension funds now have an insolvency date of 2025. The new 401(k) proposal will allow a large upfront contribution into the 401(k) along with a weekly percentage based on age and years of service.
"We were put in a position where we had to try to do the best we could, to get as much money as we could, in a 401k plan," said Frank DeRiso, UFCW Local One President.
The union was also successful in making the company agree to successor language in the contract. The new language insures that in the event of a sale, workers would be retained at their current store and would still be under the same contract.