UNFI Teamsters Ratify 1st Contracts
More than 1,000 newly organized drivers and warehouse workers at United Natural Foods Inc. (UNFI) in Florida, Georgia and Illinois have ratified their first Teamsters contracts. The UNFI workers were represented by Teamsters Locals 26, 79, 728 and 769.
The five-year agreements will protect UNFI Teamsters with an $8 hourly pay increase over the life of the contracts, comprehensive Teamsters health care coverage, a defined benefit pension through the Western Conference of Teamsters Pension Fund, enhanced safety protections, stronger seniority rightsand expanded paid time off.
UNFI released the following statement to Progressive Grocer: "We have reached an agreement on a new labor contract with UNFI drivers and warehouse associates in Florida, Georgia and Illinois. This agreement reflects our commitment to bargaining in good faith for fair contracts that offer competitive pay and benefits while providing us the operational flexibility we need to serve our customers. We are proud to offer competitive pay and benefits and to provide safe working conditions for associates across all of our facilities."
Meanwhile, the company recently reported improved performance in its second-quarter earnings, increasing net sales and narrowing net loss. UNFI reported a net sales increase of 4.9% to $8.2 billion, a net loss of $3 million and a loss per diluted share of 5 cents, while adjusted EBITDA rose 13.3% to $145 million and adjusted EPS increased to 22 cents. Based on its performance, the company raised its FY25 outlook for all metrics, other than capital and cloud spending, for a second consecutive quarter.
Providence, R.I.-based UNFI delivers a wide variety of products to more than 30,000 customer locations throughout North America, including natural product superstores, independent retailers, conventional supermarket chains, e-commerce retailers and foodservice customers. The largest publicly traded grocery distributor in America, the company is No. 22 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2024 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America.
The total Teamsters membership at UNFI is more than 5,000. The Washington D.C.-based International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.3 million workers in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.
