NORTHAMPTON — At the River Valley Co-op negotiation table, tensions have been mounting between management and union representatives as the deadline to sign a new contract draws nearer.

Members of the union’s negotiation team staged a walkout at a May 8 bargaining session, claiming that General Manager Rochelle Prunty was designated the “decision-maker” for negotiations, but failed to attend any bargaining sessions, of which this was the eighth. In response, co-op management filed an unfair labor practice complaint against the union on May 14 with the National Labor Relations Board, claiming that attempting to influence the co-op’s bargaining team is “unlawful” and goes against the National Labor Relations Act.

Meanwhile, the current contract is set to expire June 19.

While Liesel Deboors, the co-op’s director of operations, and human resources manager Nicole Cowlin have been present at bargaining sessions, union negotiators said in a statement that “neither has been granted authority to negotiate or make binding decisions.”

Jeff Jones, chapter president of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1459, which represents roughly 175 members across the co-op’s Northampton and Easthampton locations, said the issue with Prunty’s absence is that “these people do not understand the give and flow of how a co-op works the way the general manager does.”

“We basically walked out of the room that day because the way this was set up, there was nobody in that room that could make decisions,” he said. He later added that “we’re running out of time and we don’t think it’s an unfair labor practice to want somebody who can make decisions on the other side of that table.”

Prunty did not respond to requests for comment.

Jones explained that some of the key things the union is bargaining for include break times increased from 15 to 20 minutes, the ability to get vacation time earlier in one’s tenure at the co-op, and a starting wage of $23 an hour — which he noted “is not even what the MIT Living Wage Calculator says is a living wage for western Massachusetts.”

But according to a statement by the union, “management has rejected this figure outright.”

“This stance ignores the economic realities of co-op workers, many of whom cannot afford to shop at the store they serve,” the statement reads.

Additionally, the union would like there to be five union stewards at each location instead of four. These stewards are “the front line of enforcing our collective bargaining agreement,” Jones explained.

“I don’t think that we’re asking for the moon … our proposals are reasonable,” he said.

The co-op’s initial “starting point proposal,” as shared with the Gazette, included wage ranges of $18.75 to $25.75 an hour with “baked in” wage scale increases bringing the ranges to $19 to $26 an hour effective in February 2027, according to the co-op. Also proposed were an additional personal day for employees, wage steps increased from five to nine, Sunday premium pay increases and more.

This proposal was issued April 29, and co-op management said in a statement that they came to the table on May 8 “expecting to negotiate further,” but the union representatives walked out “without responding to any of it.”

Additionally, Cowlin asserted in a statement that the claim by the union that no “decision makers” were in attendance at negotiations is “not only untrue, but it is also an illegal demand under federal labor law, which prohibits interference with the composition of the other party’s bargaining team.”

“One side cannot legally tell the other side who can be on their negotiating team,” the statement reads. This is what led to the unfair labor practice filing, which, according to the co-op, followed an email to the union about its “refusal to bargain,” which went unanswered.

Jones contended that “by their own admission,” the parties present at negotiations representing the co-op were not able to offer a final say in decisions, and Prunty was “referred to as the decision maker.”

Following the unfair labor practice filing, the co-op stated that the union appeared for a bargaining session, but made no counterproposal and rejected an invitation for an all-day bargaining session, “including paying for time spent bargaining by union stewards.”

Despite these tensions, Jones said that the union is planning to continue negotiating even without Prunty’s presence, and co-op representatives also expressed a desire to continue negotiations and hear counterproposals to the one they issued in April.

Co-op managers also said that as of May 16, they emailed Jones offering to increase the payment amount for stewards’ time at bargaining sessions and inviting the union to engage in more frequent, lengthier sessions.

Alexa Lewis can be reached at alewis@gazettenet.com.