(NECN: Alysha Palumbo - Methuen, Mass.) - Walking instead of working. These Shaw's Supermarkets employees felt they had no choice but to go on strike.
Shaw's employee Sean Alaimo said, "What the company offered us is nowhere near fair, we're just looking for fairness here."
"We've been negotiating for three months now and they've done nothing to come to terms with us on anything and it's come down to this point now where we have to come out on the street, it's ridiculous," said Shaw's employee James Vecchio.
Sunday morning, members of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 791 -- who work out of the Methuen Distribution Center -- overwhelmingly rejected a final contract offer.
Union officials say the contract would have meant an increase in health care costs, frozen pensions and lower wages.
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UFCW Local 791 spokesperson Peter Derouen said, "We've made major shifts in the work rules for the company and they were just reaching too far and members basically felt insulted."
Shaw's released a statement saying:
Union members say even with a contingency plan the supermarket chain will be affected because this striking distribution center provides produce and perishable products to all Shaw's and Star Markets in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
Alaimo said, "They won't find their produce and if their produce is there it won't be as fresh because you don't have the people that are trained and have been doing their job for years in here. If they're going to have temporary workers, they're not going to get the quality service they're used to."
