Union of Giant Food store associates applauds agreement to open new location at Capitol Gateway Marketplace
WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 15, 2022) – Today, District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser announced a deal with Giant Food to become the anchor grocery tenant at Capitol Gateway Marketplace, located at 58th Street and East Capitol Street NE.
Mark Federici, President of the United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 400 union, which represents Giant Food grocery employees in the DMV area, released the following statement regarding the announcement:
“This day has been long in the making. A decade ago, when Walmart committed to opening stores in underserved areas of the city like this location in Ward 7, we knew they would never keep their promise. And unfortunately for this community, it wasn’t long before we were proven right. But thanks to the efforts of the mayor’s office and the city council, we are pleased to be welcoming a brand new Giant Food grocery store to this development. This new store will not only supply much-needed food access to the neighborhood, it will also provide good, union jobs with competitive wages, excellent benefits, and the guarantees and protections of a union contract. This is precisely the outcome we fought for all these years. We look forward to the store’s grand opening.”
Dyana Forester, President of the Metropolitan Washington Labor Council and former UFCW Local 400 Political Director, added the following:
“This is an example of great development that both creates good, union job opportunities while also meeting the needs of the Ward 7 community that I am proud to call home.”
UFCW Local 400 represents approximately 11,000 store associates at Giant Food stores throughout the greater Washington-Metropolitan region. Giant Food currently has seven locations in the District of Columbia.
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The United Food & Commercial Workers Local 400 is led by President Mark Federici and represents 35,000 members working in the grocery, retail, health care, food processing, service and other industries in Maryland, Virginia, Washington, D.C., West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee. www.ufcw400.org