(BUFFALO, NEW YORK) – It appears Tops Supermarket management was none too happy with Teamsters Local 264 over the weekend as Union-represented Erie Logistics Workers took their public campaign to tens of thousands of people who attended the annual Taste of Buffalo food festival event in Downtown Buffalo, which is sponsored by Tops.

The Teamsters say Tops management is “breaking a promise” to provide a good retirement for its 650 Members who are employed by Erie Logistics Employees, which operates as a subsidiary of Tops Markets LLC and has an warehouse distribution facility in the Buffalo Suburb of Lancaster.  The dispute involves getting $16 million in pension money that the Union wants restored to the Employee’s Pension Fund.  

According to Teamsters Local 264 Representative Darrin Ziemba, a banner (Pictured Above/Teamsters Local 264 Photo) that hung on an outdoor second-floor balcony on the Statler Hotel that read: Tops Nevers Stops Breaking Promises, only lasted about an hour before someone – believed to be a Tops representative - contacted the former hotel and asked it be taken down.  A similar sign that appeared in a first floor office window that carried the same message, (Pictured Below/Teamsters Local 264 Photo) was also removed – largely in part, Teamster Officials say, because they’d been strategically placed to shadow Tops’ main tent at the food festival.

About 22 Members of Local 264 hand-billed the food festival with the flier pictured below, which read in part: Tops claims it’s a friendly market that believes in improving the quality of life in our communities.  But it is destroying our friends’ and neighbors’ retirement.  Tops agreed to pay into its logistic workers’ pension plan so that they could have a secure retirement.  Now, Tops has broken its promise and is playing a shell game, leaving Workers in limbo and unable to retire.  Tops should keep its word and treat Workers with respect.

The Union also placed a series of lawn signs at a prominent Downtown Buffalo Thruway Exit that funneled cars to the food festival.  Those signs (Pictured Below/Teamsters Local 264 Photo) that carried the same Tops Never Stops… Breaking Promises message drew the ire of an individual the Union described as a Tops Warehouse manager, who was traveling down the exit in his car, Ziemba said.  “He started yelling at my Members,” Ziemba said.  “He said: ‘I can’t believe you’re doing this.”

n addition, Local 264 contracted a small plane to fly over the downtown food festival, pulling a banner message behind it with the same Tops Never Stops… Breaking Promises message.

All in all, Ziemba tells WNYLaborToday.com the actions have “gotten Tops attention.”

Ziemba also tells Your On-Line Labor Newspaper that a meeting to address the pension issue has been scheduled between Teamster Representatives and Tops for July 21st.

Local 264 previously issued the following statement in regards to its campaign against Tops and Erie Logistics: Teamsters Local 264 has engaged in a Corporate Campaign against Tops Markets/ Erie Logistics due to a dispute over frozen retirement benefits for our Membership.  Our Members have been caught in the middle of a dispute between the Employer and the New York State Teamsters Retirement Fund since early 2014.  The Local Union has tried to resolve this issue through all possible means available including mediation, direct negotiations and arbitration - and yet our Members continue to go without retirement benefits.  We have fought for our Members in every way possible, in every venue, except in the public eye - until now.  We recently brought our fight to the public at the JP Morgan Chase Corporate Challenge and we have multiple campaigns planed just like it.  We will not idly stand by while this employer to continues this injustice against our Membership.  Our hope is the Employer will reverse its course now that they are being judged in the public eye.  Currently the Employer has two options to protect and restore benefits to our Membership: Accept an offer from the Pension Fund to restore retirement benefits and release past accruals for our Members; or Place our Members accrued pension contributions into a trust ensuring the money would only be used for its intention, their retirement.  Of the two options, the Local Union would prefer the first, but short of an agreement we must insist that at least the second occur immediately.  We will continue to pressure the Employer until it does. 

In a subsequent press release, Teamsters Local 264 President Brian Dickman said: "This is ‘leaving Workers in limbo.’  There are ‘numerous Workers in the facility who want to retire, but aren't able to.’  Companies were at the race to show they are ‘good’ neighbors.  Tops ‘portrays itself as a friendly community market,’ but ‘this kind of corporate behavior is outrageous.’  It ‘hurts us, our families and our communities."

In a subsequent interview with WNYLaborToday.com, Dickman said: “Tops has’ moved away and stopped making pension payments.’  They are ‘holding’ (the $16 million) and are ‘claiming it as an asset when it must be put into a trust.’  The company ‘refuses to segregate ‘(the $16 million in pension money) and ‘we can’t think of one good reason why.’  We’ve ‘exhausted all our energy sitting down and trying to get something done.’”

When asked by Your On-Line Labor Newspaper why Tops would take this kind of non-action with the Union Members’ pension money, Dickman answered: “We have (650) Members who ‘don’t have a pension.’  ‘You would have to ask Tops why not.’” 

In recent weeks, the Teamsters-represented Tops Workers also distributed leaflets to those who took part in the recently-held and annual 3.5-mile JP Morgan Corporate Challenge run in Buffalo’s Delaware Park that read – again: Tops Never Stops … Breaking Promises.  

During the race, an airplane banner also flew overhead bearing the same message.  

The Workers also held signs up for the runners to read as they ran by that read: "Workers Were Promised They Could Retire, Turns Out That Tops Is A Big Fat Liar."