METHUEN — A four-month strike marked by several violent incidents and arrests ended peacefully yesterday when workers at the Shaw's distribution center ratified a new contract.
"The picket lines came down today and the strike is over," said Peter Derouen, spokesman for the United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 791, which represents more than 300 Shaw's workers at the Danton Drive facility.
"It's been a long, tough haul. We're looking to moving forward and putting this behind us and getting our people back to work. But I'm very proud of the resolve the men displayed over the past 17 weeks during some of the most difficult times," Derouen said.
The strike officially ended in its 18th week in a conference room at the Day's Hotel and Conference Center where members voted 171 to 37 to accept the contract, according to Derouen.
The Methuen Distribution Center distributes meat, dairy products and produce to all 176 Shaw's Supermarkets and Star Markets in New England.
Shaw's officials and the union disclosed few details of the contract, but issued a joint statement announcing the settlement after the union completed its vote at 5 p.m.
"Associates at the Shaw's Methuen (Mass.) distribution center have ratified a mediator-recommended settlement agreement, ending the strike that began March 7," the two sides said in their statement.
"The four-year contract continues Shaw's long-standing history of providing good wages, comprehensive and affordable health care and a generous retirement plan. It also allows the company to operate more efficiently and address changing business conditions in a very competitive marketplace. Both sides are committed to working together to meet the needs of the business and its customers," it concluded.
Shaw's spokeswoman Rebekah Fawcett said the pact is comparable to the one proposed by the company at the beginning of the strike.
"The immediate settlement is a four-year contract that includes improvements in wages, access to comprehensive and affordable health care with increased employee and employer contributions, and maintenance of retirement benefits at their current levels," Fawcett said.
Striking workers will not return to their jobs immediately. Shaw's has used replacement workers since the strike began.
"We are working with the union to determine the appropriate return to work transition," Fawcett said. "We expect it will be a phased-in approach, that begins in the next couple of weeks."
Union members initially voted 228-8 to reject a final contract offer by Shaw's and go out on strike when the contract expired at midnight March 7.
Methuen police maintained a 24-hour detail to keep the peace at the picket line outside the warehouse. The officers directed traffic for delivery trucks and workers who crossed the picket line.
Police arrested a truck driver who waved his middle finger at yelling strikers and then drove his truck at a police sergeant on March 30. A month later, police arrested another trucker who spat at a striker.
Six Shaw's strikers were arrested June 30 after a protest outside the food distribution center. Police said some of the strikers formed a human roadblock in an attempt to prevent Shaw's Supermarket trucks from entering or leaving the site. The workers were charged with disorderly conduct and disturbing the peace.
