Exhibit 10.24
AGREEMENT
BETWEEN:
DUANE READE INC.
—and—
LOCAL 340A, NEW YORK JOINT BOARD,
UNITE-HERE
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April 1, 2006 - March 31,
2009
CONTENTS
AGREEMENT made and entered into
April 1, 2006 by and between DUANE READE, INC.,
440 9 th
Avenue, New York, (hereafter
called the “Employer”), and LOCAL 340A, New York, JOINT
BOARD, UNITE-HERE, 31 West 15 th Street, New York, New York 10011
(hereafter called the “Union”).
WITNESSETH:
WHEREAS, the parties hereto desire
to cooperate in establishing and maintaining proper and suitable
conditions, and to secure uniform and equitable terms of employment
and conditions of labor satisfactory to Employer and
employees;
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of
the mutual covenants and agreement hereinafter contained, it is
mutually agreed as follows:
ARTICLE 1. RECOGNITION AND UNION
SECURITY
A. The Employer
recognizes the Union as the sole and exclusive bargaining agent for
all clerks, cashiers, pharmacy clerks, pharmacy technicians, and
photo technicians employed in the Employer’s
stores.
B. It shall
be a condition of employment that all employees of the Employer
covered by this Agreement, who are members of the Union in good
standing on the effective date of this Agreement shall remain
members in good standing, and those who are not members on the
effective date of this Agreement shall on the 45
th day following the effective date of this
Agreement, or after the execution date of the Agreement, whichever
is later, become and remain members in good standing in the Union.
It shall also be a condition of employment that all employees
covered by this Agreement and hired on or after its effective date
shall on the 45 th
day following the beginning of
such employment become and remain members in good standing in the
Union.
ARTICLE 2. COLLECTIVE BARGAINING
UNIT
A. The collective
bargaining unit covered by this Agreement shall consist of all
Covered employees employed in the Employer’s Stores who are
employed for twenty (20) hours or more per week, excluding store
managers, assistant store managers, pharmacists, clericals,
individuals supplied by contractors, guards and supervisory
employees as may be defined in the National labor Relations Act, as
amended.
B. Seasonal
employees hired temporarily or supplied by a contractor for the
Christmas season no earlier than December 15
th and terminated no later than the next
January 5 th
in any year shall also be
excluded from the coverage of this Agreement.
C. The
Employer agrees to layoff sub part-time employees in a store (those
who work less than 20 hours per week) before reducing the
hours of bargaining unit employees in the same store. The preceding
sentence only applies to situations when the Employer chooses to
reduce the hours of a bargaining unit employee by three (3) or
more hours per week.
ARTICLE 3. TRIAL PERIOD
A. A trial period
of sixty (60) days shall be in effect for all new employees hired
by the Employer, during which period the employee may be discharged
with or without cause in the sole determination of the Employer,
and such determination shall not be subject to the arbitration
provision hereinafter set forth. The trial period for any new
employee will be extended an additional sixty (60) days upon the
Employer’s written request therefore. Employees retained in
the employ of the Employer subsequent to the expiration of such
trial period shall be deemed regular employees and placed on a
seniority list of the employees of the Employer, such seniority to
date back to the beginning of their employment.
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ARTICLE 4. SENIORITY
A. Seniority for
entitlement purposes (such as vacation and benefit eligibility)
shall be measured from date of hire by the Employer.
B. Seniority
for relative purposes (such as for layoff and recall) shall be
recognized on a store by store basis. In no case shall seniority in
one store be counted as seniority in another store.
C. Seniority
on a single store basis shall govern in all layoffs and rehirings
provided the most senior employee has the present ability to
satisfactorily perform the available work.
D. An employee
shall lose seniority in the event of the occurrence of any one of
the following events.
1.
Quit
2.
Discharge for cause
3.
After layoff the employee is
notified in writing to return to work and the employee fails to
inform the Employer of his intention to so return within 48 hours
after receipt of such notice.
4.
The employee is on continuous layoff
more than for six (6) months.
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No show-no call. by failing to
inform management of absences at least one hour before shift
begins, except in emergencies. Informing management means speaking
to the Store Manager or the Shift management, not another
employee.
E. Employees
will be covered without a waiting period, for medical benefits
only, in a company acquired store, providing said employee was
covered by a previous medical plan at the time of
acquisition.
ARTICLE 5. HOURS OF WORK
A. The regular
work week for all full-time employees shall not exceed forty (40)
hours per week for any five (5) days out of a seven
(7) day week in any store regularly opened seven (7) days
per week. A full-time employee is defined as an employee who
averages a minimum of thirty (30) hours per week over a
quarter.
B. Overtime
shall be paid at the rate of time and one-half for all work over
forty (40) hours per week.
C. Part-time
employees shall receive payment for vacations and holiday pay on a
pro-rata basis of a forty (40) hour work week.
D. All full-time
employees based on seniority shall have the ability to request all
available hours in their home stores, in order to maintain their
full-time status. Employees cannot claim hours that they are
already working in another store. It is understood that the
employer will accommodate transfers, when the business allows, in
stores under the jurisdiction of the Union. The Employer shall not
involuntarily transfer an employee to a store outside this
bargaining unit except as needed on a temporary basis.
E. The
Company shall make every reasonable commercial effort to maintain
an employee ratio of 65% full time and 35% part time employees in
all stores represented by the Union.
F. The
Employer will provide a 10-minute paid break for each four-hour
block of work time. The Employer will allow a one half hour unpaid
meal break for each six hour block of work time.
G. Considering the
needs of the business and the requirement that stores be staffed
properly, work schedules shall be posted as far in advance as
reasonably practicable before implementation.
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ARTICLE 6. HOLIDAY
A. Each employee
who has completed six (6) months of service, excluding
absences, shall be paid for the holidays listed in Paragraph B
below regardless of whether the employee works on the
holiday.
B. The
holidays to which the employee shall be entitled hereunder shall
be:
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Washington’s
Birthday
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Thanksgiving Day
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Memorial Day
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Christmas Day
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Fourth of July
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New Years Day
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Labor Day
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Personal Days (as below)
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Employees will also be entitled to
three (3) personal days each year. Personal days must be
approved by the Store Manager, in advance, by giving forty eight
(48) hours notice to the Store Manager in order to be paid. There
will be no carry over of personal days. Eligible days not taken
will be forfeited. Employees are not entitled to pay for unused
personal days upon separation of employment.
C. Should
any of the aforementioned holidays to which an employee is
entitled, fall on his day off or during his vacation, such employee
shall, in addition to his regular pay, be paid for such holiday.
Should any employee be called in to work on any holiday to which he
is entitled, he shall receive holiday pay and straight-time pay for
all hours worked on the holiday. Exclusive of holiday pay, if
eligible, employees will only receive overtime pay if they actually
work over forty (40) hours in a Holiday week.
D. To be eligible
for holiday pay, employees must work their scheduled day before and
the scheduled day after a paid holiday.
E. Part-time
employees shall be entitled to holidays (including personal days)
with pay on the same basis as herein above set forth but pro-rated
in the proportion that their work hours bear to the full work week
in the category in which employed based on average hours worked for
the preceding quarter.
ARTICLE 7. LAYOFF AND
DISCHARGE
A. The Employer
shall have the right to determine the number of employees from time
to time required in the operation of its business and to determine
the necessity for or extent of layoffs. The Employer will provide
seven (7) days notice to the Union of layoffs resulting from a
store closing.
B.
Employees, after the expiration of their trial period, may be
discharged only for cause which includes but is not limited to
reasons outlined in the company’s Rules of Conduct and
Orientation booklet. In the event of any dispute as to the
existence of cause for discharge, such dispute shall be determined
in accordance with the grievance and arbitration provisions
hereinafter contained. Unless the Employer receives a written claim
of wrongful discharge within two (2) weeks of date of
discharge, discharge shall be deemed to be for good
cause.
ARTICLE 8. VACATIONS
A. The Company
agrees that, upon request, vacation pay shall be paid prior to the
employee’s scheduled time off. All requests must be made on
the pay period prior to the scheduled time off. It is understood
that all eligible vacations must be taken in the calendar year or
it will be forfeited. If an employee requests a delay and/or store
management requests the vacation delay, it must be made in writing
to the VP/Human Resources, who will respond within seven
(7) days, in writing, if the request for delay is
rejected.
B. A
blackout period will exist from November 1 st each year until December 31
st of each year where no vacation will be
allowed. An employee will never be paid for vacation in lieu of
time off. Employees
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who qualify for vacation during the
blackout period, November 1 st through December 31
st , shall be eligible to take their vacation after
January 1 st
of the next calendar
year.
C. All full
and part-time employees shall be eligible for vacation pay as
follows:
1.
Upon completing six (6) months
employment—one (1) week
2.
Upon completing one (1) year
employment—two (2) weeks
3.
Upon completing seven (7) years
employment—three (3) weeks
4.
Upon completing fifteen (15) years
employment—four (4) weeks
5.
Upon completing twenty (20) years
employment—five (5) weeks
Part-time employees shall be
entitled to vacation on the same basis as set forth herein, but
pro-rated in the proportion that their work hours bear to the full
work-week based on average hours worked for the preceding
quarter.
ARTICLE 9. FAIR TREATMENT AND
RESPECT
A. The Employer
agrees that each employee should be treated with respect and
dignity. The Employer will not tolerate verbal abuse or threats by
managers. Corrective discussions should not be administered in the
store selling areas or in front of other bargaining unit employees.
The Union member may request the presence of the Union Steward or
other witness at any disciplinary meeting. Discipline shall be
administered in a professional, adult and non-confrontational
manner.
B. All
written complaints regarding this section shall be addressed within
ten (10) calendar days of receipt in the Company’s Human
Resource department. Upon request, the Union will be provided a
written summary of all actions resulting from such
complaints.
ARTICLE 10. CHECKOFF
A. During the
second week of each and every month the Employer agrees to deduct
and remit to the Union the Union’s regular membership dues
and initiation fees, upon condition that the Union shall furnish
the Employer with a lawful checkoff authorization form executed by
the employee.
B. The
Employer will notify the Union of any revocation of such
authorization received by it.
C. This
authorization shall automatically renew itself unless written
authorization for revocation is submitted as above
directed.
D. Any monies
deducted, except monies deducted in error, from the employees are
to remain the property of the Union, and in no event shall the
Employer be permi