POLAND At Giant Eagle, workers reject proposed pact

POLAND -- Union workers at the Poland Giant Eagle have rejected a proposed, three-year contract and authorized a strike, but a walk-out date has not been set.
Terry Kushner, a spokesman in Giant Eagle's Cleveland office, said store owners contacted the union Tuesday to propose resuming talks next week. He would not comment further because the store is owned by independent operators, not by Giant Eagle.
Jeff Logan, an owner, referred questions to Giant Eagle's corporate office.
Members of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 880 have been working under a contract extension since Sept. 8. They voted the proposal down Monday by a vote of 58-4.
A union steward said workers will likely postpone setting a strike date if the store owners will agree to return to the bargaining table.
The contract proposal would have increased department managers' pay by 30 cents per hour each year of the three-year agreement.
Starting pay would have stayed the same for several other full- and part-time job classifications, however, with smaller hourly increases each year. The steward said workers dislike the proposal, in part, because it would benefit some employees more than others.