Piggly Wiggly Midwest Settles with Union

Piggly Wiggly Midwest has signed new multiyear contracts with its unionized employees at stores throughout Wisconsin, effectively ending a long dispute between the grocer and United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1473.

The grocer and union issued a joint news release announcing that the contract settlement resolves all the UFCW’s charges of unfair labor practices pending before the National Labor Relations Board, the Racine Journal Times reported. Terms of the new contract were not released.

In the news release, Local 1473 leadership praised company management for efforts toward labor peace and assured that employee concerns about wages and working conditions can be discussed with management.

Earlier this year, the NLRB ruled Piggly Wiggly Midwest violated the law by bad-faith bargaining with the union at four of its Wisconsin grocery stores; two of those stores were sold off as franchises last year. The ruling meant the grocer would have to undo policies it unilaterally imposed after it declared contract talks to be at impasse, and reimburse employees for those losses.