Stop & Shop strike impacting customers and nearby businesses

By Jordan Mazza

WESTERLY, R.I. (WLNE) — Thousands of Stop & Shop workers are still on strike, including at the Westerly store.

“It’s not like we want to stay out here and not get paid,” said Morgan Grace, a Stop & Shop employee from Westerly on strike. “We do want to be back at work, but we do want to be treated fairly.”

But the strike has meant booming business for McQuade’s Marketplace just down the road in westerly.

Employees say it’s been almost a week of the kind of traffic they might see for a holiday or snowstorm.

“It’s a long snowstorm,” said Valerie Faulise of McQuade’s Marketplace.

And it means schedule changes for employees.

“Maybe an extra hour early, or an extra hour late,” Faulise said. “I have a day off this week but I’m filling in for a few hours then too. It’s just really all hands on deck.”

And it’s not going unnoticed.

“I just told the employees about appreciating all the extra work they’ve been doing,” said Rob Montalbano of Westerly.

Many customers say they’re voting with their wallets.

“Absolutely not crossing the picket line,” said Gina Lincoln of Niantic. “My husband drove by Stop & Shop the other day with a sign that said, ‘Loyal customer of Stop & Shop for 33 years, but I will not cross the picket line.'”

Some customers added that shopping at alternatives like McQuade’s could become a more regular habit.

“For now, it’s going to make me more apt to come here continuously, because of the strike,” said Annette Lavallee of Stonington.

But Stop & Shop workers are optimistic their customers will eventually return after the strike.

“All the support we’ve gotten, I’m confident we’re going to get the same customers back here,” said Grace.

© WLNE/ABC 6 2019