Board Communications

A Statement for Peace

July 30, 2024

Dear Co-op Owners,

The following statement was approved by River Valley Co-op’s Board of Directors to express solidarity with the National Co+op Grocer's (our co-op of food co-ops) efforts to support humanitarian aid in Gaza and to support the many calls around the world and in our own community for an end to the Israel-Gaza war. The decision to make this statement is based on the results of conversations in labor-management committee meetings, including both our
co-op management and our employee's union stewards.We know this has been and continues to be a very challenging issue and that challenging issues often make it hard to find common ground for how to best work together for peace. We found that the news of the collective contributions for humanitarian aid that have been made by the food cooperative movement are a source of inspiration and hope in the midst of the ongoing devastation of the war. In addition to the $50,000 contribution intially made by the National Co-op Grocers, they are making an additional $50,000 in contributions for humanitarian aid by matching contributions of other individual food co-ops.

With gratitude for all of you for the amazing diversity of ways we each work for peace,

-Rochelle 
 

River Valley Co-op Supports National Co+op Grocers Statement on the Israel-Palestine War

We reviewed the May 1st, 2024, statement on the Israel-Palestine war presented by our co-op of food co-ops, National Co+op Grocers (NCG).  River Valley Co-op supports this NCG statement on the current war in Gaza, including the following key points:

• We stand in solidarity with humanitarian aid workers, including the International Rescue Committee, Doctors Without Borders, and World Central Kitchen, by calling for an immediate and sustained ceasefire, compliance with international humanitarian law, release of all hostages, and an end to the blockade of humanitarian aid to the 2.3 million people living in Gaza
• We believe in human dignity and that all people have the right to live in a peaceful society free from violence, hate, and discrimination in all forms, including on the basis of religion, ethnicity, or origin
• We reject antisemitism, anti-Palestinian racism, Islamophobia, and genocide of any people
• We condemn the senseless attacks against civilian populations and recognize the harm done to innocent victims whose lives have been taken, as well as those who continue to be forever altered by this violence

We appreciate NCG’s statement that it is important to know that this issue is a deeply personal and painful one for many people. Their statement also recognizes that navigating highly sensitive issues as community-owned co-op grocery stores that seek to create more welcoming and safer spaces for more people is never easy.

We support NCG’s statement encouraging people to contribute to this cause by learning about the deep history of this region and considering a donation to any of the organizations listed in their statement below. We also applaud NCG’s $50,000 in contributions to several humanitarian aid non-profits. In addition, we encourage our community members to consider contributions to the locally-based nonprofits Healing Across the Divides and the Western Massachusetts Chapter of Standing Together or other organizations working for peace in the region.

River Valley Co-op made a contribution of $1,000 to Healing Across the Divides, a local non-profit foundation based in Amherst, MA, for effecting sustainable change. Their mission is to measurably improve the health of marginalized people living in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories via community-based intervention. Healing Across the Divides brings groups together, when possible, to exchange ideas and work together. They seek to increase the capacity and efficiency of these groups. Healing Across the Divide’s method of working to improve health represents a pathway to peacebuilding. HATD is a nonprofit providing funding and technical health advice to both Palestinian and Israeli communities; and fosters cooperation between groups, a critical difference in these challenging times.

We are deeply grateful that NCG will be matching our $1,000 contribution to Healing Across the Divides with a contribution to the Gaza Family Relief Society, a non-profit that was selected from options suggested by NCG by our co-op’s labor-management committee. 

River Valley Co-op also strongly supports the community efforts of the Western Mass Friends of Standing Together Chapter to organize vigils for peace. We made a $500 contribution to their recent fundraising campaign. We encourage our local co-op community to join in on their weekly vigils for peace in solidarity with Palestinians, Jews, and Israelis to mourn and demand an end to the war.

 
The full National Co+op Grocers (NCG) statement on the Israel-Palestine War can be referenced below: Note the date of this statement is May 1st, 2024. Since then, the conditions have worsened and the number of casualties increased.

NCG Statement on Israel-Palestine Conflict, May 01, 2024

The current war in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory has been ongoing since October 2023. Over 34,000 Palestinians and 1,400 Israelis have been reported as killed, including 97 journalists and over 220 humanitarian aid workers. More than 85% of the people living in the Gaza Strip have been displaced from their homes. According to the United Nations, humanitarian aid workers have been killed in this conflict at a rate three times higher than other recorded conflict and people living in Gaza are beginning to experience famine.

In the U.S., reports of racism and discrimination are on the rise, and protests related to the war have occurred on college campuses and other locations across the country.

The history of Israel and Palestine is long and complex, and those of us born and raised in the West may not have a deep understanding of the history of conflict in this area.
It is important to know that this issue is a deeply personal and painful one for many people and many are looking to companies to take a position on one side or the other, including the staff and members of some co-ops.

Trying to navigate highly sensitive and divisive issues as community-owned grocery stores that want to create more welcoming and safer spaces for more people is never easy. We believe as co-ops, we can look to cooperative values to share with our communities not who we stand against but rather what we stand for:

• We believe in human dignity and that all people have the right to live in a peaceful society free from violence, hate and discrimination in all forms including on the basis of religion, ethnicity or origin
• We reject antisemitism, anti-Palestinian racism, Islamophobia and genocide of any people
• We condemn the senseless attacks against civilian populations and recognize harm done to innocent victims whose lives have been taken as well as those who continue to be forever altered by this violence
• We stand in solidarity with humanitarian aid workers, including International Rescue Committee, Doctors Without Borders, and World Central Kitchen, by calling for an immediate and sustained ceasefire, compliance with international humanitarian law, release of all hostages and an end to the blockade of humanitarian aid to the 2.3 million people living in Gaza
• We know this message will not go far enough for some and we respect the right of every individual to free speech on this issue.

NCG is donating $40,000 to American Near East Refugee Aid (Anera) to help with humanitarian relief. Anera has for decades employed local subject matter experts in agriculture, health, education and community building to meet the needs of refugees and other vulnerable communities in Palestine, Lebanon and Jordan, including through cooperative development. Since October 2023, Anera has focused efforts on providing civilians in Gaza with essential food and medical care to survive the current humanitarian crisis.

Additionally, NCG is donating $5,000 each to Gaza Medical Tent and The Parents Circle – Family Forum (PCFF). Gaza Medical Tent is a grassroots, Palestinian-led effort: a group of Palestinian doctors and nurses providing medical support, free diapers and formula and medication support for acute needs throughout Gaza. PCFF was established in 1995 by bereaved Israeli families and today is a joint Israeli-Palestinian organization of over 600 families who’ve lost loved ones to the ongoing war and are working towards peace and reconciliation.
People can contribute to this cause by learning about the deep history in this region and considering a donation to the organizations listed below.

• American Near East Refugee Aid
• Cooperatives in Israel and Palestine
• Doctors Without Borders
• Gaza Family Relief Society
• Gaza Medical Tent
• Gxza Health
• Project Watermelon
• Safebow
• The Parents Circle – Family Forum
• United Nations Relief and Works Agency
• World Central Kitchen
• Zaman International 
   

February 22, 2021: 

A Message from our Board of Directors about the Ancient Archaeological Site

Issues related to the proposed roundabout at the Y-intersection of North King Street/Rte 5&10 with Hatfield Street near our Northampton store have recently been getting some news coverage. This has helped to bring new and renewed attention to the issue as it relates to the work to preserve a rare 8,000-10,000-year-old site of cultural significance in the path of the construction and our co-op's interests both in the roundabout and historical site.

As the leadership of the co-op, we want to be sure our co-op owners understand the full context of our responsibility for engagement in opposition to this roundabout project as proposed. We hope that the following overview helps clarify our shared interests in stopping this project, as well as our shared interests in moving forward together to develop alternative solutions for addressing pedestrian, bike, and vehicle traffic flow for this intersection. Our goal is to develop an alternative solution that ensures the preservation of the ancient cultural site and mitigates the serious economic threats to our cooperative business. This could be an exciting new plan that will better address all needs now that we know about the historical site.

We have been following this issue closely and working to keep our co-op owners updated since the alarming news in late June 2020 that bulldozers were about to start construction on July 1st. In late 2019, we learned of the archeological significance of the site and expected MassDOT to take time to develop alternative plans; we had been told funding was no longer available for construction. The Mass DOT website showed no funding, the start date deleted, with no status noted, affirming our beliefs. We were not informed of the new funding in April 2020, and the planned July start date was a surprise. 

We have met with both city and state officials over many years in the effort to ensure this three-year road construction project does not seriously damage our cooperative business. Our requests for overnight construction, long before the project went to bid, have been met with a refusal to seriously assess this option with City, State, and MassDOT officials instead insisting it is too costly. However, because they can proceed more quickly to completion, we know that many projects actually cost less with overnight construction. In measuring the construction project costs, these officials never once balanced the construction costs with business disruption in terms of lost jobs and reduced purchases from local farmers. As a union employer with 170 employees and as a food retailer that makes $7 million in wholesale purchases from over 200 other local food producers annually, the community impact of business disruption over multiple years is not insignificant. In spite of this, our local officials, over the course of many years, have not viewed damage to local businesses due to infrastructure development as an area for community leadership concern. We disagree. 

While disappointing, we hope for the best and plan for the worst. So as the co-op leaders, we have continued developing strategies for our co-op to survive whatever disruptions ensue and build toward a thriving future. When the archeological report verified the site to be rare and significant and containing Native American artifacts dating 8,000-10,000 years old, it made sense to us that the funding was pulled and construction delayed while officials considered alternatives. The knowledge of the significance of the site certainly changed our thinking. It has not yet changed our State and local officials' thinking. We hoped for a series of community meetings to discuss ideas for how to address preservation and new ideas for the intersection. Sadly, our City officials refused to address this ancient discovery in our community in any way at all. With our City deferring to the State, we continue to expect more interesting results from the State and Federal consultation process with the federally recognized Tribes involved in this process. 

Now that the historical site is known to us, and we know it is of significant historical and cultural importance, we cannot continue to advocate to address our economic issues with overnight construction. Clearly, by day or by night, construction will forever destroy this important site. The historical sites' preservation is an important social justice issue for our co-op to support. Once the historic preservation of the site is secured, we can return to engagement as needed to address our interests in the new plan design and its impact on our cooperative and community.  

As a community of co-op owners, we are committed to fulfilling our mission of creating a just marketplace that nourishes the community. Nourishing the community involves recognizing harms done and taking actions to repair these harms. It also means ensuring that the least powerful, most marginalized members of our community have a say. In this case, we recognize that the land on which our store operates, and where we live and work, is the same land that settler-colonialists stole from the Indigenous Tribes. Today, federally-recognized Tribes, members of the Narragansett, the Aquinnah Wampanoag, and others ask that this site be preserved. We cannot ignore their requests and be satisfied with overnight construction that mitigates damage to our economic interest while they are calling for the preservation of the site. We need to stand in solidarity and request that alternatives be developed. We need to insist that preservation and safety work together. Safer pedestrian and bicycle access to N. King Street, measures to calm and adequately direct vehicle traffic do not have to be in conflict with efforts to preserve the site. It will just require a new plan.

Thank you to all who have been following and supporting our work on these issues. Your clear call for intervention has made a difference. Over 55,000 people signed a petition quickly launched last June, which was a big reason for the Attorney General's subsequent intervention to delay the construction until the required Tribal consultation was completed. 

That consultation is still underway. In spite of that ongoing process, the MassDOT stated at the recent public meeting they have the right to proceed because the Native American Groups did not comment about their objections before the start of the archaeology work. It would make more sense that once the site's significance becomes clear through the study, additional considerations should be made based on new information. We disagree that it is too late for Native American Groups' opposition to be considered by our state.

Continued public support is needed to ensure a positive outcome on this issue. For co-op owners, this is an important issue impacting our cooperative business and our community. The next steps we are recommending and asking for your support are requesting a full stop of the current roundabout project and the preservation of this historic site via the comment section on the MassDOT website and Governor Baker's website. Many hundreds of you have already helped with this. Thank you!

A suggested message and contact information are listed below.

Submit comments to:

• Governor Baker's Website: https://www.mass.gov/forms/email-the-governors-office/
• MassDOT Project Webpage and access to the Public Comment Tool: Submit your written comments here.
• Email letters to Jose Delgado at Governor Baker's Western MA office: Jose.Delgado@mass.gov
• CC MassDOT / Bryan Cordeiro: Bryan.Cordeiro@state.ma.us 

Sample Letter

Dear Governor Baker and Lt. Governor Polito,

I am writing to request you cancel the MassDOT project to build a North King Street/Hatfield Street roundabout in Northampton immediately and ensure the ancient historic site currently in its path is fully preserved by listing it on the National Registry of Historic Places! 

I was dismayed by the content on the website launched by the MassDOT for its public engagement campaign. It omitted and reinterpreted important key facts and findings from the state archaeology report to justify destroying the site. Here is a link to the highlighted copy of the report (State Report). You can read for yourself that this is an important rare site with two separate hearths already found. You will also see the report recommended preservation for further study of likely additional hearths and artifacts. You will see the report calls for inclusion on the National Registry of Historic Places. 

I expect you have access to all the objections and comments from the Tribal Historic Preservation Officers consulting on this project. I respectfully suggest you review those objections and honor this site's cultural importance and their federal rights to protect Native American cultural history. 

Please cancel this MassDOT roundabout project immediately and preserve this important 8,000-10,000-year-old archaeological site now. Your actions to add this site to our National Registry of Historic Places will demonstrate respect for our First Nations People in Massachusetts, an important executive action that will benefit our community today and our future generations.

Thank you for your review of this important historical and cultural issue. 

Sincerely, 

[Your Name]

CC: Bryan Cordeiro, MassDOT bryan.cordeiro@state.ma.us

Additional Resources

• Click here to view River Valley Co-op's letter to Governor Baker and Lt. Governor Polito
• Read the State Archaeological Report on the historic site with key issues highlighted
• Click here for FAQs
• Click here to view River Valley Co-op's letter to MEPA on January 4th, 2021

A Statement from our Board of Directors on the Killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and many more:

Now is not the time to be silent. We stand in solidarity with the Black community up and down the Pioneer Valley, as well as across the country, in our collective grief, anger, and the call for justice for the murder of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and so many more. The ongoing injustices of systemic racism continue to plague our country and threaten the lives of people of color every day. River Valley Co-op joins with the many other voices calling for change. The recent events are nothing new, racism kills and harms people every day and it has for generations. 

Racism is a system of oppression and, as is now finally clear to everyone nationwide, racism is also a national health crisis. Our society is infected by racism and has been since the founding of this country. We need resources dedicated to educating white America to understand how racism is spread and the many complex ways it harms and kills people of color. NOW is the time to join together to mandate and legislate practices to combat personal, cultural, and institutional racism, how it continues and is condoned; NOW is the time to face the pain and suffering and to pledge that this time, finally NOW, we will act to dismantle racism and begin a healing process.

We know we are not alone, we are strong together and we must start where we are. We don't know all the answers at the co-op, and we cannot clearly discern the path forward. What we do know is that we have a mission to build a just marketplace that nourishes the community and uplifts the cooperative values of democracy, equity, and solidarity.

As a first next step, the River Valley Co-op is making donations to support important anti-racism work in our community and to help support protesters' efforts to address racial justice locally and also in the Twin Cities. At this time, to support racial justice protesters locally and in Minneapolis, the co-op is contributing to the Abolition Network and to the Twin Cities Mutual Aid Society providing PPE to protesters; to support anti-racist organizing in Western MA, we are contributing to ARISE for Social Justice in Springfield and to the Boston chapter of Black Lives Matter; and to support our local community work of educating to end racism, we are contributing to Undoing Racism Organizing Collective, EmbraceRace, and The Sojourner Truth School for Social Change Leadership. We invite our co-op community to engage with these and/or other organizations for education and support, and if possible to consider making donations to these or other organizations working to end racism.

We recognize that we are taking one small step in what is a long journey toward racial justice. We remain committed to finding more and more ways to create a just marketplace that nourishes the community. We have a great deal of work to do and we know our actions and words today are nowhere near enough. We recommit ourselves to healing by listening, learning, speaking and uplifting the diversity of voices in our community, especially those of people of color. We renew our commitment to working together to make the changes that are needed to create a better future for all. We commit ourselves to this because yesterday, today, and all of the tomorrows that lie ahead: Black Lives Matter.
 

FAQs: Manifesting Cooperation Among Cooperatives at River Valley Co-op

 “Cooperatives serve their members most effectively and strengthen the co-operative movement by working together through local, national, regional and international structures.” The International Cooperative Alliance, Sixth Principle, Co-operation Among Cooperatives:

For River Valley Co-op, being well-connected to our cooperative and natural grocery peers contributes mightily to our business’ vitality, and fosters collective economic and social benefits for our owners as well as supporting other cooperatives both locally and even globally. The sixth co-op principle, “Cooperation among Cooperatives” encourages cooperatives to work together to help each other. River Valley Co-op, like all businesses, works to build and maintain a robust network. This network allows the Co-op to both contribute to individual and community well-being beyond the doors of our Co-op, and to benefit our local community co-op business and our owners, vendors, employees and customers.

Of Which Cooperatives Is River Valley Co-op A Member?

One of the seven principles of cooperation is Cooperation Among Cooperatives.  Working with other cooperatives was key to our startup and continues to be an important element of our current and future viability as a local independent co-op. Just as we as individuals joined as owners of River Valley Co-op for mutual support and benefit, River Valley Co-op itself has also joined as an owner of other cooperatives for mutual support and benefit. River Valley Co-op is a member of several different co-ops including National Co-op Grocers (NCG), Frontier Cooperative Herbs, Associated Grocers of New England Neighboring Food Co-op Association (NFCA), National Cooperative Business Association (NCBA), and Co-op Power.  NCG (formerly NCGA) - National Co-op Grocers is a business services and purchasing cooperative for retail food co-ops located throughout the United States. Representing 148 food co-ops operating over 200 stores in 37 states and over 1.3 million consumer-owners, NCG helps unify natural food co-ops in order to optimize operational and marketing resources, strengthen purchasing power, and ultimately offer more value to local food co-op owners and shoppers.

Our competitive prices on natural foods products as well as many store supplies and packaging are due to the collective purchasing power our co-op gets through our NCG purchasing contract as part of a group of over 200 co-op stores. The largest of these purchasing contracts is with UNFI Inc., which is our primary supplier of natural foods groceries and which had been a fierce competitor for co-op warehouses. When the retail food co-op community lost nearly all their co-op warehouses we were able to leverage our collective strength for beneficial terms with UNFI Inc. by forming NCG. In addition, NCG provides co-op staff and management development programs, marketing programs, technical support, and serves a strong national advocacy role for food co-ops on issues including national organic standards, GMO labeling, and other food policy issues. Our purchasing co-op has been so successful that over the nine years our store has been open not only have we received great pricing on grocery purchases and excellent retail and marketing services for the dues we’ve paid, we’ve also received patronage dividends and rebates  from NCG which are higher than the dues we’ve paid. NCG also provides the infrastructure to support the invaluable development of peer support between co-op managers. Before our co-op opened in 2008, our general manager Rochelle Prunty served on the board of directors of NCG and was involved in leadership of earlier, regional versions of co-op grocers’ associations as well as cooperative warehouses.

Frontier Co-op and Associated Grocers of New England, Inc. - We have co-op ownership in both of these distribution cooperatives.  Frontier Co-op specializes in organic fair trade bulk herbs, spices, teas, as well as their Aura Cacia label bodycare products, Co-op Market products and Simply Organic packaged spices. Frontier Co-op has been a member-owned cooperative supporting natural living since 1976. They've grown rapidly and continuously in the decades since due to their close harmony with both industry trends and the values of natural products consumers. They're owned by stores and other organizations that buy and sell their products. Frontier was one of the first suppliers to actively advocate organic products and organic agriculture.

AGNE – Associated Grocers of New England, Inc., is the largest retailer-owned, wholesale grocery distribution center in New England. They serve the needs of independent retail grocers of every store size and format, including multi-store independent supermarket groups, community supermarkets, country stores and convenience retailers. 

NFCA - Neighboring Food Co-op Association - The Neighboring Food Co-op Association is a cooperative association of over 35 food co-ops and start-up initiatives in New England that are working together toward a shared vision of a thriving regional economy, rooted in a healthy, just and sustainable food system and a vibrant community of cooperative enterprise. River Valley Co-op was a founding member of this organization and continues to be a member.  One of the most visible aspects of working with the NFCA for our customers is the local frozen fruits and vegetables we collaborated to process and package together through NFCA.  Our participation also subsidizes smaller regional co-ops and startup food co-ops that may not qualify for NCG membership and helps build our food co-op community network regionally. Former River Valley Co-op Board Member, Erbin Crowell, is the executive director of NFCA.

NCBA - A U.S. co-op trade association, NCBA provides cross-sector education, support, and advocacy that helps domestic cooperatives thrive. U.S. membership includes leading primary cooperatives and national associations active in a broad range of cooperative sectors including agriculture, telecommunications, electricity, banking and finance, insurance, housing, health care, consumer goods, purchasing, student services, and worker-owned enterprises. The mission is to develop, advance, and protect cooperative enterprise. We are a member of NCBA and regularly send co-op staff and Board Members to the Annual CCMA (Consumer Co-op Management Association) conference which has been long sponsored in part by NCBA.

Co-op Power – Co-op Power is a regional consumer-owned sustainable energy cooperative. They operate within a regional network of Community Energy Cooperatives to create a multi-class, multi-racial movement for a sustainable and just energy future. River Valley gets community solar energy credits through Co-op Power.

River Valley Co-op Works With Other Co-ops Too, Who Are They?

We work with all kinds of co-ops and co-op associations, locally and nationally, including UMass Five College Credit Union, CDS Consulting Co-op, Valley Alliance of Worker Co-ops (VAWC), PVSquared (Pioneer Valley Photo Voltaic), Collective Copies, Twin Pines Cooperative Foundation, Cooperative Fund of New England (CFNE), National Cooperative Bank (NCB), Capital Impact (formerly NCB Capital Impact), Local Enterprise Assistance Fund (LEAF),Twin Pines Cooperative Foundation, Zing Train, The Food Co-op Initiative, Wellspring Cooperative, and Cooperative Development Institute.

UMass Five College Credit Union – As a non-profit cooperative financial institution, UMass Five College Federal Credit Union is owned by and operated exclusively for the benefit of the credit union’s members. Credit Union membership is a benefit made available to River Valley Co-op owners and employees

Collective Copies - A worked-owned full-service digital copying and finishing center serving Western Massachusetts and the nation. Collective Copies is one of the local print shops we regularly use for production of co-op materials.

PVSquared – Pioneer Valley Photovoltaic, a worker-owned cooperative since 2002, PV Squared provides renewable energy solutions to businesses and homeowners in the Pioneer Valley and the surrounding regions. PVSquared installed the solar panels on the Co-op’s roof.

VAWC - Valley Alliance of Worker Co-ops is a “co-op of worker co-ops” that have come together as a means of strengthening the efforts of individual co-ops to develop their businesses, serve their members, and contribute to the wider co-operative economy. Their core goal is to provide themselves with the resources and support needed to advance our co-operatives, empower members, and benefit more people in our communities. We have collaborated with VAWC to promote overall visibility of cooperatives in our region by co-sponsoring events and local co-op month advertisements.

Wellspring Cooperative - This Springfield based cooperative is creating an engine for new, community-based, worker-owned companies in inner-city Springfield, Massachusetts based on the purchasing power of area anchor institutions — the colleges, universities, and hospitals — that purchase more than $1.5 billion worth of goods and services a year. The upholstery business and window restoration business are soon to be joined by a commercial greenhouse business which River Valley Co-op invested $5,000 to help launch last year.  The ribbon cutting ceremony for the greenhouse is planned for November 15^th 2017 and we hope to be purchasing greens from this co-op soon!

Nationally, co-ops have supported River Valley in the areas of financing, store startup and ongoing business development.

CDS Consulting Co-op - CDS Consulting Co-op (not to be confused with Cooperative Development Services) is a cooperative of co-op specialists providing organizational and developmental guidance to food co-ops. They provide a variety of services, including support for communities seeking to start new co-ops in all sectors of the economy and planning assistance to existing co-ops seeking to expand. Established in 2008 and the first cooperative development organization of its kind, CDS Consulting Co-op delivers business services to cooperatives and worker-owned businesses. The majority of CDS Consulting Co-op members are former staff or directors of cooperatively-owned businesses.  By pooling resources in the co-op, member consultants provide themselves with more efficient administrative and communication services which results in lower costs to their co-op clients. CDS Consulting Co-op provided invaluable support throughout our startup phase including early services to our Board of Directors for location analysis and financial feasibility projections, as well as developing its governance system, financing plans, member loan program, and store design services. CDS Consultants were important advocates in helping us to secure financing for the launch of our new store by validating to skeptical lenders that we’d done our homework on the planning for the project.  We work with CDS Consulting Co-op for ongoing Board development, staff development projects, and we participated in funding a project to explore issues of race in food co-ops. 

We are proud to report that two of our own co-op owners have joined CDS Consulting Co-op in part as a result of their experience working with our co-op.  River Valley Co-op’s first meat manager, Pete Hodgson, helped us to open the store in 2008 and worked with us for several years before leaving his job with us to become a retail meat department consultant through CDS Consulting Co-op.  He went onto helping other food co-ops with setting up new store departments and helping address issues in meat and seafood departments in co-ops all across the country. When we had an opening for a meat and seafood manager last year Pete returned to provide interim support over the holidays and as our meat and seafood manager through last July.  Jade Barker, a volunteer with River Valley Co-op since 2001, and a Board Member since 2005, joined CDS Consulting Co-op in late 2014.  Jade now provides support to other co-op Boards all across the country as a consultant.

Zing Train- Zing Train is a consulting services business that is part of Zingerman’s community of businesses based in Ann Arbor Michigan.  We’ve worked with Zing Train on our open book management system development.  They are a worker owned cooperative with an innovative approach to foodservice business development. 

CFNE - The Cooperative Fund of New England is a community development loan fund that facilitates socially responsible investing in cooperatives, community-oriented nonprofits, and worker-owned businesses in New England and adjacent communities in New York.  CFNE supported our startup with a $200,000 loan in 2007 and continues to support us with a line of credit.  We are proud to say that we have two River Valley Co-op owners affiliated with CFNE. Our finance manager, Duke Bouchard, serves on the CFNE Board and Loan Committee since 2017. And our Board member since 2010, Dorian Gregory, works for CFNE as a loan outreach officer since 2014.

Twin Pines Cooperative Foundation (TPCF) - Since 1964, TPCF has administered over $2.5 million dollars in grant programs going towards the development of many types of cooperatives. River Valley Co-op participates in the Cooperative Community Fund (CCF) administered by the Twin Pines Cooperative Foundation. The CCF program is operated locally by about 45 food co-ops all across the USA. The CCF funds are endowments grown by each of the food co-ops where the annual interest earned is given by those 45 food co-ops to nonprofits in their communities. The River Valley Co-op Community Fund, a nonprofit charitable foundation established in 2013 by our Board, is one of these 45 individual food co-op community funds which are aggregated for investment in cooperative development by Twin Pines. We’ve built up our funds to nearly $80,000 with donations from our co-op, our co-op owners and matching funds from some of our vendors over the last few years.  TPCF invests the joint funds only in the development of cooperatives. The full $3 million in TPCF funds cycles only within our family of cooperatives and leverages $30 million in total for the development of cooperatives.  The CCF has no dollars invested in the Stock Market thru this program, but has millions invested in Co-op Markets!

When our co-op needed to form an LLC for our startup financing in 2007 and needed an outside partner for .01% non-voting ownership of the LLC, Twin Pines Cooperative Foundation stepped up. (Note that River Valley Co-op maintained 99.99% ownership of the LLC and full control as the only managing member.) The Twin Pines Cooperative Foundation also provided a $35,000 loan to us (repaid in 2014) to help secure an $800,000 loan from the NCB Capital Impact to help fund our startup in 2007.

Capital Impact (formerly NCB Capital Impact) - NCB Capital Impact, a nonprofit organization and certified Community Development Financial Institution with a national presence, improves access to high-quality health and elder care, healthy foods, housing, and education in low-income communities across the country.  Capital Impact partners with public and private organizations that are like-minded in mission, and dedicated to long-term success. They supported our startup with an $800,000 loan, (secured by deposits of $400,000 in NCB from 30 food co-ops across the country), in 2007 which was repaid in 2014.

NCB - National Cooperative Bank provides comprehensive banking products and services to cooperatives and other member-owned organizations throughout the country.  What makes NCB unique is that the bank was created to address the financial needs of an underserved market niche- people who join together cooperatively to meet personal, social or business needs, especially in low-income communities. NCB supported our startup in 2003 with a $150,000 line of credit secured by a $100,000 CD deposit. 

LEAF – Local Enterprise Assistance Fund is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization whose mission is to promote human and economic development by providing financing and development assistance to cooperatives and social purpose ventures that create and save jobs for low-income people. LEAF supported our co-op startup with a $150,000 loan in 2007.

The Cooperative Development Institute (CDI) was established in 1994 as a non-profit with a mission to work with people in the Northeast to create cooperative businesses and networks that grow a prosperous, equitable economy. Early in our organizing stage, CDI partnered with CDS Consulting Co-op to develop our original financial proforma and provided support for the newly formed Board of Directors working to organize one of the few new startup food co-ops in decades in the US.  CDI’s then Executive Director, Lynn Benander, provided support for securing and administering our $422,000 Massachusetts Technology Collaborative Green Building Grant to fund many of our green building features including the 34KW+ Photo Voltaic Solar Energy producing system installed on our roof in 2008. Former River Valley Co-op Board Member and Employee David Gowler is an employee of CDI and current River Valley Co-op Board Member Alex Risley Schroeder is a former Board Member of CDI. 

Food Co-op Initiative, (FCI) - The Food Co-op Initiative is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit established in 2005 that provides free resources for people in the U.S. working to start a retail food co-op that meets the needs of their community. The Food Co-op Initiative relies on grants and donations from the co-op community to help provide services for new retail food co-ops. As of May 2017, Food Co-op Initiative has seen 134 new retail food co-ops open in the U.S., with 74% of those still in business. Every store is unique, but they all share a belief in the Seven Cooperative Principles, and the pride that community ownership can bring. Our general manager, Rochelle Prunty, served on the Board of this non-profit supporting retail food co-op startups for several years. This volunteer service as well as financial contributions from River Valley Co-op to FCI are one way we pay it forward for all the support we received for our startup from other food co-ops and co-op organizations.

And, we buy and sell co-op produced foods and products including: Equal Exchange, Our Family Farms, Organic Valley, FEDCO, Cabot Creamery, Real Pickles (which we also support with a $5,000 investment), Artisan Beverage Co-op, and La Riojana. Additionally we purchase many fair trade products which contain cooperatively sourced ingredients from around the world.

What Other Ways Is River Valley Co-op Connected to Our Community?

More broadly, we tend additional meaningful connections that support the Co-op to engage in dialogue with like-minded local food groups. We participate in PVGrows, especially their Racial Equity group. Board member, Alex Risley Schroeder sat on the PVGrows Steering Committee. Board member, Jacquie Fraser, served on the board of directors of the Survival Center from 2011 – 2017. Board member, Andrea, Stanley is a founding board member for the Craft Maltster’s Guild, a trade association for small scale grain processors in North America. And, Board members are often owners of other co-ops, including other food co-ops (Steve Bruner: Amherst Food Co-op, Lynn DiTullio: Greenfields Market, Alex Risley Schroeder: Hanover Food Cooperative).

And There Are Other Resources That Support River Valley Co-op’s Network

Finally, our business – and owners – benefit from cooperative industry resources, including

Co-op Grocers Information Network (CGIN) - CGN Cooperative Grocers' Network Non-profit association of U.S. and Canadian food co-ops that runs a website, several online discussion groups for cooperative grocers, and publishes Cooperative Grocer magazine

CDF - The Cooperative Development Foundation is a 501 (c) 3 charitable family of funds that advances economic development through cooperative enterprise. CDF also administers the Howard Bowers Fund for education of food co-op managers, staff and boards of directors as well as the CDF Disaster Relief Fund which supports cooperatives of all kinds in recovery from disasters.

Letter to River Valley Co-op Owners

July 2017

Dear Owners,

All of us own our Co-op grocery store. And we all value that it has a triple bottom line focus on people, planet and profits. We know and cherish that this set of priorities is unique in our local food retail landscape. And we acknowledge that one aspect of what makes it unique is that River Valley Co-op is also a union shop, with employees represented by the UFCW Local 1459. Co-ops and unions can be powerful partners. They are bound together by carefully negotiated agreements that, in addition to
hiring, wage and other workplace matters, set specific processes for interactions among partners, including conflict resolution procedures.

River Valley Co-op has just successfully revisited the CBA (Collective Bargaining Agreement) negotiated in late 2015. At the end of June, after over a year of increasing discord on the part of some employees, labor and management were able to come together with an interest based problem-solving mediation session, as outlined in the current CBA as part of our conflict resolution process.This mediation session included the UFCW Local 1459’s Staff Representative and five elected co-op staff stewards, as well as management’s union advisor and bargaining team (general manager, human resources manager, store manager, and financial manager). It was facilitated by the FMCS, (Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service), and resulted in resolving several issues central to staff satisfaction and the labor/management teamwork which is central to the success of our Co-op.

While some might be inclined to cast this recently signed agreement as a win for one or another side of this situation, River Valley Co-op’s Board of Directors would suggest that win / lose isn’t the appropriate characterization of this situation. We know that a healthy Co-op / Union partnership requires respectful dealings that honor the collective bargaining duty of good faith dealings while allowing for revisions. We Directors, as representatives of the nearly 10,000 co-op owners, have advocated in all the ways available to us within the context of the current CBA to come to this point and we applaud the use of the interest based problem-solving mediation process used to craft this most recent agreement.

River Valley Co-op Directors have the responsibility to assure the ongoing fiscal health of the business. From our vantage point, we are aware that this protracted, challenging and public disagreement has tested our business in a number of not-insignificant ways: discord between working partners, public perception, missed opportunities and financially. Poised as we are to secure a location for a second store which will allow us to even better meet our mission by hiring more people, purchasing more local food and products, and by strengthening our food justice efforts, we are grateful for the hard work done by many to reach this agreement. We know co-op owners value the Coop’s integrity and commitment to uphold the CBA, even as the situation heated up. We appreciate the patience and support owners exercised as this situation unfolded and slowly moved to resolution. We join labor, management, and the community at large in looking forward.

Sincerely,

Dorian Gregory, President

River Valley Co-op Board of Directors

July 3rd, 2017 

River Valley Co-op and UFCW Local 1459 Complete Successful Mediation Process

(Northampton, MA) Leadership of the UFCW, Local 1459, representing the staff of River Valley Co-op, and the management of River Valley Co-op announce today that they met on Monday, June 26th and Tuesday, June 27th for a successful mediation over issues of interest to both parties. With the use of Interest Based Problem Solving, the two parties reached mutual agreement concerning compensation for shuttle time to and from an offsite staff parking lot, as well as increased wages for the lowest-paid employees at River Valley Co-op. The concerted activity grievance was also successfully resolved. Both the Union and the Co-op have renewed their commitment to moving forward with a mutually supportive working relationship.

Jeff Jones, representing UFCW, Local 1459 said of the mediation; "Under the facilitation of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service,(FMCS), River Valley Co-op and the Union Bargaining Committee completed a successful two-day mediation. The long-standing issue of parking has been resolved as well as the role of concerted activity in the workplace. I feel this paves the way for the Co-op to grow and extend further into the community."

"We all felt our community rooting for us to resolve these issues, including our nearly 10,000 co-op owners and their families, our many customers, and the nearly 400 local farmers and food producers we partner with as suppliers. Our Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) with the UFCW Local 1459 includes excellent systems that proved their effectiveness this week for resolving a conflict and improving teamwork between the Union and Coop at the same time. Renewing our commitment to use these systems was central to our success in reaching this resolution for the key people we are both here for; River Valley Co-op's staff. With strengthened teamwork, the collective capacity of our 150+ employees to better serve our co-op owners, customers, vendors and the broader community is also strengthened," said Rochelle Prunty, River Valley Co-op General Manager.

"A successful community cooperative grocery business is key to maintaining and building a vibrant, resilient local food system and locally based economy. The Co-op is proud to stand with the labor movement as a union employer. In the face of increasing corporate consolidation and control of the food system supporting cooperative businesses, other local businesses, and the labor movement are all more important than ever!" said Dorian Gregory, River Valley Co-op Board President.

For more information contact: Jeff Jones Union Representative UFCW Local 1459: (413) 387-9194 (cell); Rochelle Prunty, General Manager River Valley Co-op: (413) 559-7499 (cell)

River Valley Co-op is a consumer-owned cooperative grocery store specializing in fresh local foods located at 330 North King Street, Northampton. Open to Everyone 8AM-10PM.

River Valley Co-op

Questions About Employee Wages and Shuttle

June 21, 2017

Dear Co-op Owners,

Thank you for your interest in River Valley Co-op governance and for taking the time to attend the June 14 meeting of the Board of Directors.  Your participation is welcomed and appreciated.  A number of questions were raised at that meeting, and below we respond to them.

Why not pay staff for shuttle time?  

The co-op leases a location in Hatfield less than 1.5 miles from the co-op store which has about 55 parking spaces that are available for staff. Due to the distance and logistics for parking in the vicinity of the store we wanted to provide a safe and convenient option for our employees who drive to work.  Our current solution is to provide a free shuttle service which runs on a regular schedule to and from the store to this parking lot.  This issue was addressed and resolved in the collective bargaining process in 2015 and agreed to by staff vote for the contract term that extends through October 2018. We understand some staff have expressed dissatisfaction with this aspect of their contract:

“Parking:

The Union and the co-op agree that the following matters are placed into this letter of understanding and have been agreed to. Both the Union and the co-op had every opportunity to bargain over the matter of employee parking and have agreed that the employee parking policies and determining where employees park is a reasonable work rule to be established by the co-op. The co-op will maintain free employee parking off site and absent a substantive and material change the matter is considered resolved. Both the co-op and the Union agree if the employee has an emergency situation and needs to get their vehicle, the MOD will act accordingly.”

In our collective bargaining sessions, some folks wanted us to not only provide a benefit that is safe, convenient, and free—but also to pay employees who chose to use it.  Management suggested that money would be more fairly distributed in higher wages for everyone for hours worked and the union agreed that was a higher priority. We all agreed upon the language excerpted above and the union members ratified the contract.

Although the union raised this issue some time ago after the current labor contract was signed and there is no requirement to re-open the contract, the co-op had requested use of the agreed upon conflict resolution procedures to resolve this issue.  We are happy to report that the union has agreed to our request to meet to review and address this issue in mediation. We stand by all our agreements with the union including use of our agreed upon conflict resolution process.  We believe that the union is good for employees and good for the co-op. That is why we encourage our employees to resolve differences through the process agreed to by both the union and the co-op.

There was a question about why managers are allowed to park onsite.

The short answer is they are not, with one exception. As outlined in the union contract, we require the manager on duty to keep a car onsite for in the case of potential emergency for an employee to get a ride to their car outside of the regular shuttle schedule. Other than the manager on duty, all store employees, whether managers or union members are required to park offsite and both have the option of using the shuttle. We don’t have quite enough parking in the Hatfield location for all the employees that would like to have parking spaces. We also lease 15-20 spaces at the nearby Northampton Transmission, which is another free parking option for our staff (available to all staff on first come, first serve basis). 

We also lease an offsite office for additional workspace for both union and non-union employees and there is parking at that office for the employees who work there. They do not report to work at the store, they report to work at the offsite office.  The union requested these offsite staff be allowed to drive to the store when needed for meetings in the store and we agreed. This means there are also occasionally some very short term parking exceptions for offsite staff visiting the store.

There was a question about whether we had explored the feasibility of a parking garage.

This was an idea we looked into but the site conditions would make what is already a costly structure to build even more out of reach.  And a parking garage would not address any of the other facility capacity shortcomings

There was a question about the Daily Hampshire Gazette Article about opening a second store while we have labor issues. 

We were surprised to see the Gazette Article imply a second store was opening soon, that is not the case.  And we agree that we need to resolve problems satisfactorily so that our employees can move forward together in undertaking all the internal development work and actual business planning and fundraising for the project of opening our second location. 

Opening a second store is a big project and we’ve been discussing it for over two years in our co-op owner newsletters and annual reports.  A second store was included in our 2015 co-op owner survey which showed strong support for a 2^nd store, and it has been a topic of discussion in various co-op owner events. We have not yet secured a location, which we just reported in our recent e-newsletter in an article that includes an update on the site search for a second store. We anticipate that upon securing a site (with an agreement including contingencies before making a final decision), the timeline to opening, if the decision is a yes, would be close to 1.5 to2 years.  We certainly expect to resolve our current issues long before that.

There was a related question about whether we could use our money to pay employees more instead of building a second store.

We have yet to raise the considerable funds for investing in opening a second store. The revenues from the expanded business would be what would in turn generate the capital to repay new store development loans as well as to hire and pay additional staff.  Increasing our sales is the clearest pathway for us to build our business strength for making future wage increases sustainable.  A second location would also open up a lot more opportunities for career advancement for our current staff while also adding more good retail union jobs overall. A successful second store will start to build our economies of scale that we will need to be able to meet the ongoing challenges of increasing wages and decreasing prices for groceries.

Our current facility simply doesn’t have the capacity to serve our growing business comfortably for either staff or customers. We are seeking a location that will take some pressure off our current store and better serve our current customers. We also seek a location that will expand our reach to additional customers committed to local food and the economic sustainability of our food system.  A successful second location will increase our purchases from local businesses and local farmers and expand cooperative ownership and community control of our food supply as well as create more good jobs and fund increases in wages.

There were questions about whether our manager’s salaries were equitable in comparison to our staff wages. 

We’ve all heard about how the ratio of top CEO salaries to the lowest paid employees in corporate America averages approximately 340:1. We agree this is very inequitable, unfair and is one of the biggest challenges faced by working families.

Our managers’ salaries are very equitable and fair in comparison to our non-management staff salaries. The Domestic Fair Trade certification standard for an equitable and fair ratio of highest to lowest paid employees is a ratio of 12:1.  At River Valley Co-op, the ratio is even lower than that, far below 10:1. This shows we go beyond meeting the fair trade standard for an equitable spread between the highest and lowest paid employees at the co-op. This brings our lowest and highest paid staff much closer together than most businesses.

There was a request for information about the general manager’s salary.

We don’t disclose any employee’s salary for privacy reasons. We strive to pay competitive wages for appropriate skills so that we can attract good talent to manage the cooperative. We can tell you how our overall wages compare to our labor market. Our average management and supervisory positions pay between 44%-87% of the median for comparable positions in our labor market (MA Bureau of Labor Statistics) with most falling between 44%-65% of the median. In comparison, our non-supervisory positions are compensated slightly above the median for comparable positions, which reflects our values of supporting our entry level workers.

There were several questions about compensation levels for our hourly staff related to the fight for $15 and livable wage standards. 

We support the Fight for $15 as an overall strategy for increasing the minimum wage, and we, like others in the retail industry are working to develop our business and systems in order to make increased entry-level wages economically feasible.  We are working with the union to phase in increased entry level wages and have a wage increase scheduled for this fall.  If you read our annual reports, you know we report average wages for our hourly, non-supervisory staff and the reports show a progression of increased compensation over time.  The increases come from both increases in the wage scale and regular scheduled increases based on seniority for time in service, as well as promotions to higher level positions.  To summarize information previously posted to the website, we have been steadily increasing the number of employees earning a living wage using the Living Wage Western MA calculations which are a moving target.  According to that data, the current living wage for an employee living in Western Massachusetts is $12.34/hr and for an employee living in Northampton the living wage is $13.36/hr.  With the upcoming scheduled wage scale increase in our union contract we project nearly 95% of our staff will be earning a Western Mass living wage or above and 76% will be at the higher Northampton living wage level or above.  In addition to the hourly wages reported, staff receive compensation in the form of health insurance, disability insurance, paid vacation time, paid sick time, life insurance, discounts on purchases, and the potential for gain-share bonuses, as well as over 90% full-time employment.  We know that the combination of wages and benefits that we offer puts us at economic disadvantage to some of our competitors in the marketplace.  But we will not compromise on these real quality of life standards that our people need and deserve.

Can the Board Create a Forum for Co-op Owners on our Website?

Thank you for the suggestion. This is something the Board is looking into adding as a feature on our website and we are exploring the feasibility with the support of the co-op’s marketing manager.

The Board Meeting doesn’t seem Designed for Owner Participation.

The Board of Directors are the elected representatives of the co-op owners. The Board of Directors have fiduciary responsibility for the management of the cooperative. They are elected and empowered by the co-op’s owners to carry out that function on their behalf. These meetings are not designed as open forum sessions.  We do appreciate owner comments, so we try to make time to accommodate those comments as a regular part of our Board Meetings, but not as the primary function and purpose of the Board Meetings. Co-op owners who would like to bring something to the board to be considered for inclusion on the agenda, should do so in advance of the meeting, and should realize that not everything a Co-op owner wants to discuss will find its way onto the board’s monthly agenda. The Board meetings are designed for carrying out the Board’s work as a team to carry out their duties, which includes a few minutes for co-op owner comments at the beginning of each meeting.

We do seek owner participation in several ways outside of board meetings, including the annual meeting and co-op conversation events.  As our young Co-op grows, we are continuing to identify better and more targeted owner engagement events.  Indeed, if there are processes or procedures available in the store, (e.g. customer service desk, or employee grievances procedure), it’s our policy to encourage use of those processes.  Our purpose in doing so is to ensure that the most effective resources are directed to the right issues. 

The Amazon purchase of Whole Foods. How does it affect us at River Valley Co-op?

Shortly after the board meeting, news of the Amazon purchase of Whole Foods started circulating. It has been asked by many what this means to our Co-op.

One thing we know is this is more consolidation of our food supply by the interests of large corporations.  Time will tell what an Amazon-owned Whole Foods means for River Valley Co-op and the direction of the grocery industry as a whole.  There is no question that Amazon acquiring Whole Foods is going to have an impact on the grocery industry nationally and locally.  It is no secret what the outcome has been for the independent and locally owned businesses in the industries where Amazon has bought companies before. 

From the beginning, we have operated our cooperative in an environment alongside powerful corporate competitors.  Working together, we’ve met this challenge and we stand by our very different mission, values, and goals to support our community and we will continue to adapt.

Another thing we know is that the role of the co-op to protect and develop our local food system and support a sustainable local economy is more important than ever.  We also know from experience as a cooperative community business that we are stronger together, (staff, board, management, owners, vendors, local shoppers, our cooperative partners), and we’ll work to meet whatever new challenges emerge from this corporate power play by Amazon in the grocery arena with compassion and care for our community.  River Valley Co-op is not for sale, we own it together for the common good!

Thank you for your questions and support!

River Valley Co-op

Questions About Employee Wages and Shuttle 

May  25th, 2017

See the following recent questions from Co-op owners to the Board of Directors and the response from the Board of Directors:

At River Valley Co-op excellent staff treatment is extremely important to us. We strive to employ fulltime staff, provide good benefits, wages and pay regular wage increases. 

In response to all of your questions, the simple answer is that the wages paid for all our non-supervisory staff, including starting wages, are the wages required to be paid under our collective bargaining agreement covering non-supervisory employees.  These wages were not dictated by the Co-op, but were negotiated by the Union and employee representatives in an interest-based negotiation process and voted on with approval by the employees at the close of negotiations.   River Valley Co-op’s pay rates are what the Union professionals, employees who participated in the Union collective bargaining, the Federal Mediator who facilitated our interest based bargaining process and the Co-op’s financial managers who negotiated the contract agreed made labor relations and business sense for River Valley Co-op.   River Valley non-supervisory staff are represented by one of the largest grocery unions in the country, the UFCW, and we at the Co-op intend to honor that collective bargaining agreement during its term, which expires on October 30, 2018.  

Below, and in answer to your questions, we provide additional information about the Co-op’s business reasons for the wages it agreed to pay through October 30, 2018.

Why don’t we pay a starting wage of $15 per hour to all employees (plus benefits)?

Paying $15 would cost more than $1 million dollars per year.  We do not believe that raising wages beyond the agreed amounts in our negotiated union contract would be financially prudent at this point in time.

Our average pay rate in March of 2017 was $13.55 per hour.  That is before we factor in the total compensation package, which includes health insurance, disability insurance, vacation time, sick time, life insurance, and discounts on purchases.  

To raise that additional $1 million dollars, we would need to raise prices.  We face continuing pressure for reduced prices, to make sure our products are accessible to the community and because our supermarket competitors already nationally average only a 1% profit and often offer the similar products at a reduced price.  We are looking at increasing our economies of scale by opening a second store, which is discussed in more detail below, but this will not happen overnight.

Why don’t we pay employees additional wages instead of distributing patronage to owners?

This question implies that patronage refunds can be reduced in order to increase wages.  The reality is that reducing profit to owners to increase wages is not as straightforward as the question infers.  As a consumer owned cooperative, tax laws allow us to retain 80% of our profits on sales to owners which is our primary source of funding for our operations.  If we distribute 20% of that profit back to our owners, we reduce our taxable income by 100% of allowable owner profits. If we didn’t distribute these patronage refunds to owners, we would have to pay more in taxes which would take more capital out of our Co-op and our community. Because of the cash impact of this, decreasing patronage refunds would not necessarily support increased wages.

Why don’t we use our considerable profits to raise wages?

This question assumes that the Co-op makes considerable profit.  However, that is not the case.  It is important first to understand the distinction in financial terms between "profits" and "sales." "Sales" are the top line on the income statement, before any expenses are deducted. "Profits" are the bottom line on the income statement, after all the costs of doing business are deducted. In the grocery industry, and at our Co-op, these are typically considered pretty 'slim', as in 'slim profit margins' or one might call it a 'low margin' business. 

The Co-op’s sales have been excellent and have grown to $27 million/year. However, our profit margins are typically just 1-3% of our sales total and profit margins, including those of our Co-op, are on a downward trend industry-wide. We were able to grow our sales following the remodel, but our capacity is continuing to be challenged. We desire to open a second store, both to retain the sales we’ve gained, and, perhaps most important, to realize economies of scale that can come with having multiple stores.

Businesses of our size have several tools to increase profit: benefit from economies of scale by increasing sales, raise prices, or cut expenses. The only reasonable tool from the Co-op’s perspective is opening a second store to increase our economies of scale. This is the big challenge that River Valley Co-op currently faces: to continue to serve our owners with more efficiency, and keep increasing the local economic benefits of our operations supporting the local farmers and businesses and our employees. We do not believe that raising wages beyond the agreed amounts in our negotiated union contract would be financially prudent at this point in time.

Why don’t we pay all employees at the Co-op a living wage?

The concept of a living wage is not a well-defined one and has no clear consensus.  A person can review several sources and find different definitions and numbers for a living wage.  However, for purposes of this response we’ve relied on the Living Wage Western Massachusetts’s data on living wages. According to that data, the living wage for an employee living in Western Massachusetts is $12.34/hr and for an employee living in Northampton the living wage is $13.36/hr.

Based on the Living Wage Western Massachusetts’s data, the majority of our workforce is already making the living wage threshold or above. Further, we’ve agreed with the Union to wage scale increases in October 2017 that will bring nearly 95% of our staff to the Western MA livable wage level, and 76% to the considerably higher Northampton livable wage. We have increased our overall wage scale through regular contract negotiations with the Union as our business has grown in addition to building longevity increases into the wage scale. Staff wages are a key and very important issue, from both a moral and principled point of view as well as the more practical need to attract and retain talented staff. 

Wages are one element among many that need to be carefully balanced every day.  We also offer significant benefits (health insurance, disability insurance, vacation time, sick time, life insurance, discounts on purchases, potential for gain-share bonuses, and over 90% full-time employment) as part of our employees’ overall compensation packages. The industry as a whole increasingly relies on part-time employment and doesn’t prioritize full-time employment and benefits as our Co-op does. A higher hourly wage isn’t really a livable wage unless you get enough hours and we’ve placed a high value on providing full time jobs with benefits. And, our excellent benefits always score high in our staff satisfaction surveys. 

While we currently start our lowest positions at $11.25, staff progress on wage scale quickly over the first year as you can see from the following table. Seniority is one of the union values and increases based on time in service are built into our wage scale. 

There was a request for transparency on all wages including manager and supervisor wage levels. 

We don’t disclose manager and supervisory wage levels to member-owners or the public for employee privacy reasons and competitive reasons. We strive to pay competitive wages for appropriate skills so that we can attract good talent to manage the cooperative. We can tell you how our overall wages compare to our labor market. Our average management and supervisory positions pay between 44%-87% of the median for comparable positions in our labor market (MA Bureau of Labor Statistics) with most falling between 44%-65% of the median. In comparison our non-supervisory positions are compensated slightly above the median for comparable positions.  This brings our lowest and highest paid positions much closer together than most businesses.

How are we progressing to resolve the shuttle issue?

The Board Response to the Shuttle issue written last October still stands (and it can be found below, updated December 9th). This is an issue discussed, decided on and democratically voted on by employees as part of contract negotiations. Employees chose to accept the collectively bargained agreement, including the provision of raises for all employees in lieu of shuttle pay for some employees when our last union contract finalized in late 2015. This decision was reached through a collaborative process with Co-op management and the Union and ratified by staff in the subsequent union contract. Of course issues can arise between contract signings, but nothing has changed materially since that contract was negotiated. However, that being said, there are procedures for the Co-op and the Union to resolve issues during contract cycles. From our letter to owners (emphasis added):

“…the Union has raised an issue of dissatisfaction with the contract that it negotiated, agreed to and ratified; and so far has refused to utilize the processes that we have agreed in our contract to use for conflict resolution. Instead we are threatened with legal action and a public campaign that would damage the Co-op’s reputation if we didn’t make substantial payments.”

We have continually pushed to use the established mediation process to resolve this issue.  As of this writing, a mediation has been scheduled. We are hopeful that this issue be resolved, finally, through the agreed upon negotiation process.

Note:  The union structure prescribes the processes for resolving issues. If Board comments have been minimal, this is one reason, along with the unfortunate stalemate described above. 

Conclusion

The retail grocery business is extremely competitive and organic/natural markets are increasingly being challenged by very large companies.  Our closest grocery neighbor, Big Y, has $1.7 billion in annual sales (70 stores), Stop and Shop, $15.2 billion (422 stores), and Whole Foods $12.9 billion (431 stores). All of these stores sell some of the same products we do, and all of these businesses have a considerable advantage of efficiencies of scale compared to our $27 million (one store) business, yet we have highly competitive starting wages, and are confident that we do a better job with employee wages and benefits overall. That’s because providing good jobs is a core part of our mission and vision. Finding the right price/wage balance is an ongoing and not insignificant challenge in an increasingly competitive grocery environment. We are pleased with our progress so far, but know that this challenge will be an ongoing one.

And the Board is well aware of the difficulties that have come with our growth, limited resources and tight physical space.  Please be assured that plans to address areas of employee concerns have been put in place, and that we are closely monitoring progress on these issues. Staff treatment is very important to us. Any workplace can have situations and experiences that some employees don’t like; since we began our partnership with the Union, we have had the Union’s support in ensuring consistent, fair staff treatment. The Board believes we are fortunate to have an exceptionally talented group of managers and staff. We are hopeful that the upcoming mediation process will get that relationship back on track.

Thanks again for your concerns.

Sincerely,

Dorian Gregory, President
River Valley Co-op Board of Directors

River Valley Co-op

Board of Directors Response to Labor Questions

February 5th, 2017

Increasing Wages for All vs. Paid Commuter Time for Some

Thank you for your interest and support of the co-op and our employees.  We appreciate the opportunity to respond to your concerns and questions about the free parking shuttle the Co-op provides. 

We want to assure you we continue to be willing to work with the Union to resolve this issue through the processes we’ve agreed to in our labor contract. The following is some additional information:

First Some History of the Issue Our staff is represented by the UFCW Local 1459. Shuttle pay came up during negotiations with the union in 2015. The shuttle issue was fully discussed over a number of sessions and completely addressed in bargaining.  Management and the union looked at the concerns together.  All views were given a voice. A solution was crafted on which we all agreed. 

Both the union and the co-op agreed that the fair and equitable resolution was to grant all employees a larger wage increase because some employees ride the shuttle and some do not.  We achieved this solution with the assistance of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service who helped facilitate our collective bargaining sessions.

The proposed agreement was presented to the staff, who had the option to reject it if they weren't happy with it. Instead, they ratified the contract. The union agreed that the shuttle issue had been resolved for the 3-year contract period, and the matter appeared settled through 2018.

Since then, some staff have expressed dissatisfaction with this aspect of their Collective Bargaining Agreement. We have good processes in place through the agreement with the Union to resolve issues that come up. If staff believe that the labor agreement we entered into last year is problematic, there are procedures that employees can use for grievances.  Some have chosen not to use these procedures on the shuttle issue. Instead a public campaign has been organized.  

How River Valley Seeks to Solve this Issue The co-op has repeatedly asked the union to honor and comply with the labor contract by using our agreed upon processes to resolve this issue. The co-op is and has always been willing to listen with an open mind and work for a solution.

We hope you can understand that it might be more complicated than it looks to resolve an issue that we were already assured was resolved through collective bargaining.  It is further complicated because the union has raised an issue of dissatisfaction with the contract that it negotiated, agreed to and ratified; and so far has refused to utilize the processes that we have agreed in our contract to use for conflict resolution. Instead we are threatened with legal action and a public campaign that would damage the co-op’s reputation if we didn’t make substantial payments. This was confusing to say the least. 

Seeking and Receiving Clarity from the State of Massachusetts For clarity on the legal issue we sought an opinion letter from the MA Wage and Hour Division. Receipt and review of the state’s written legal opinion reinforced our confidence that our practices are completely within the law on this matter. 

We shared the state’s letter with union, yet they decided to go forward with a legal complaint anyway and again refused our request to process this issue through the grievance procedures in our labor agreement.

Further, we believe that the union campaign’s unfair labor practice allegations are grievances that legally should be deferred to the mutually agreed upon resolution process.  We did not refuse our employees the right to leaflet and we did not discipline anyone for doing so. We do not believe we’ve violated the National Labor Relations Act. We are asking the National Labor Relations Board to resolve this. 

River Valley Moving Forward to Resolve River Valley Co-op is a progressive employer of over 150 people, about 95% full time with benefits. We are not perfect and we make mistakes, but we welcome the opportunity to resolve all our issues in the spirit of mutual respect. We believe in the labor movement. We consider it aligned with the cooperative movement in working for democratic solutions that empower people and communities. 

We appreciate your patience and understanding during this process. We hear our employees concerns and we ask for your support in our call upon the union to resolve these issues through our collective bargaining agreement. 

In conclusion, our agreement with the union is to engage in a cooperative interest-based relationship.  A win/lose, zero/sum approach is confusing and damaging to any working relationship.  We continue to have an open mind about resolving this beneficially for all and request that this issue be resolved through the processes that both the union membership, union leadership and the co-op have agreed to, the grievance and binding arbitration provision of the labor agreement.  

Preserving the great working relationships that we have with employees and the wider community are important to us. We’ve worked hard to do that. We hope the facts outlined here help you to know more about our efforts to date. We all have the same mutual interests for our Co-op, our employees, and the community. Thank you for your interest in helping us to achieve our goals.

Board of Directors Response

Increasing Wages for All vs. Paid Commuter Time for Some

Updated December 9th, 2016