Long Island Grocery Store Workers Fear for their Future after German Discount Takeover
Another family-owned grocery store chain goes under
Marian Meszaros, 63, walked out of the Best Market grocery store in Franklin Square, Long Island, during her lunch break and lit a cigarette. She was still wearing her white butcher’s coat over her black uniform. A few trays had fallen on her that morning and not for the first time: she was nursing a sore shoulder from when a dolly stacked with meat trays got stuck on the uneven concrete floor, dislodging trays filled with meat.
This is Meszaros’s 13th year working at the store. Originally from Queens, she spent most of her life going from one job to the next looking for her passion: she worked as a hairdresser, and then at the call center for Dime Savings Bank in Uniondale. But when she was first hired as a meat-wrapper at Best Market, it felt like fate.
“Meszaros is the Hungarian name for butcher,” she said. “I thought that was a sign.”
Meszaros’s goal was to become a meat-cutter, which is one of the better-paid jobs in the backend of a grocery store. Last year, she was finally promoted to assistant meat-cutter, but her day-to-day duties did not change. And she did not receive training in what she called the art of meat-cutting.
Meszaros has no cellphone. She lives a mile away from the store with her mother, who is 85. She was forced to move in with her 14 years ago after surviving breast cancer, which left Meszaros broke. Her mother, who recently retired, drives her to and from work in her ’93 Saturn. Meszaros is now the sole breadwinner, but her earnings are not enough, and she and her mother are getting ready to sell their family home of 40 years.
“We have to,” said Meszaros, breaking down in tears. “I just can’t afford it.”
Meszaros currently makes $16 an hour. Two years ago, her hours were cut down from 40 to 35 a week.
And then, something else happened.
In November, 2018, the German multinational discount supermarket chain Lidl acquired all 27 Best Market stores, mostly on Long Island, from the family that had owned it for over twenty years. The sale came at a difficult time for traditional grocery stores, which currently face challenges from all sides: giant discounters like Walmart and Aldi, rapidly proliferating convenience stores, and the still small but growing online grocery market. According to a report by Inmar Analytics, traditional grocery stores have seen their market share cut in half in the last thirty years, from 90 percent to 44 percent. Stagnating growth has led in places to labor unrest. Earlier this year, Stop & Shop workers went on strike, demanding better union contracts, and won.
After the sale to Lidl, no announcement was made to the employees, and Meszaros found out about the acquisition from customers. Since taking over, Lidl has shut down two stores for re-modelling. A few weeks ago, the Hicksville store was permanently shut down and sold off. Lidl has promised that all Best Market workers will have an opportunity to keep their jobs if they re-apply for positions at their new stores. Workers who decide to leave have also been promised severance packages.
But the re-application process includes rigorous training to fit into Lidl’s way of doing things. Over 40 years, it expanded across Europe and now operates in 32 countries. Its promise of “lowest possible prices” has already pushed US competitors like Walmart to slash their own prices. A typical Lidl store hosts 90% of its own brands. They call themselves “masters of store efficiency” because their mission is to cater to the busy customer. Every store has the same layout. Produce is displayed in the crate it arrived in, which eliminates the need for stacking. Employees are expected to work in multiple departments. Each Lidl store operates with only half the number of employees currently working at the Best Market stores. Most employees are hired on a part-time basis. Although Lidl has promised to keep the customer-favorite deli in their Best Market stores, employees fear that the deli and meat departments will be eliminated.
Joelyse Yanes, 19, currently works in the meat department at the West Islip Best Market after her previous store in West Babylon was shut down to be converted into a Lidl. She recently received a notice to re-apply for a job at the new store.
“I’ll be trained for everything,” said Yanes. “They don’t have a meat department.”
Even if Lidl manages to turn the stores over, they will be facing a challenging environment in the US. Its main competitor Aldi is set to become the third largest grocery chain in the country by 2023. But even discount stores are being challenged by the increasing use of technology in the grocery experience. In the midst of labor strikes at their stores over union contracts, the supermarket chain Stop & Shop introduced over 200 robots, named Marty to their stores this year. Marty the Robot’s job is to patrol the aisles and detect spills or hazards. Meanwhile, Amazon is trying to create physical grocery stores that are completely free of checkout counters.
“They’ve asked the question: How do you remove the checkout entirely?” Louise Herring, a McKinsey retail analyst, said on a McKinsey podcast. From there, it is but a few small steps toward eliminating all employees.
According to Brittain Ladd, former Amazon senior manager and independent retail consultant, this is not a new phenomenon.
“A technological development causes a labor displacement and it’s a natural part of capitalism,” said Ladd earlier this year. “But workers have a choice to stay or go. It’s not up to the employer to move people from the homeless shelter up the economic ladder.”
Back in Long Island, Sandra Davis, 52, finished another shift at the West Islip Best Market store. She has worked as a cashier and book-keeper for three years and earns $14.80 an hour. Like her colleague Meszaros from Franklin Square, Davis found out about the Lidl acquisition from her customers. She is convinced her store in West Islip, the oldest Best Market store still in business, is on its way to being permanently closed.
“They’re not restocking the shelves,” said Davis. “If something’s gone, it’s gone.”
Davis, like many of her co-workers, is worried about her future. According to Davis, many do not believe they will qualify for jobs once the stores are converted and are curious about the promised severance package. Davis herself is looking to change careers; she is planning to start training to be a home health aid.
Two years ago, Best Market employees began a workers’ campaign called “Do Better Best Market” to improve workplace safety and wages. The United Food and Commercial Workers’ union and Long Island Jobs with Justice stepped in to give the workers some leverage in negotiations. Since Lidl’s acquisition, the unions have been working to ensure workers are prepared for what’s coming.
For Meszaros, her dream of becoming a meat-cutter at her local deli may never become a reality. But right now, for many like her, it’s a question of survival.
“Despite being a loyal and dependable employee for over a decade,” said Meszaros, “I still only earn $1 more than Lidl’s current starting wage on Long Island.”
If Lidl eliminates the Best Market meat department, Meszaros may be out of a job.
