Letter to Mr.Henderson

Dear Mr. Henderson:

We are writing out of concern for the many jobs and services at risk in Ohio at the 46 Tops stores and warehouse due to the decisions of Royal Ahold N.V., Ahold USA, Inc., and Tops Markets, LLC, ("Ahold/Tops"), to sell these stores. These stores are located in and near Cleveland, which is now recognized as the nation's poorest city by the U.S. Census Bureau. We ask that Ahold/Tops sell these stores to a responsible party committed to maintaining the stores and warehouse and retaining the organized labor force, including approximately 4000 jobs, which has served your company and your customers so well for so many years.

It is always unfortunate when a large company like Ahold/Tops pulls out of a community. Uncertainty reigns. Families worry about their livelihoods. Communities are held hostage as local economic anchors and neighborhoods hang in the balance.

Tops stores in particular have served Greater Cleveland responsibly for many decades as Tops, Finast, and Pick-n-Pay, providing good-paying, stable jobs to local residents and providing good food to customers in convenient locations. In return, the people of Greater Cleveland have rewarded your company with it business and loyalty.

We believe that it would be serve both your company and the people of the Cleveland area for Ahold/Tops to sell the stores to a party committed to keeping the stores and warehouse open and retaining the organized labor force. Ahold/Tops would be getting the highest and best value for its assets by selling the Tops stores and warehouse intact. And the people of Ohio who have supported Ahold/Tops and its predecessors for so many years would retain value in their neighborhoods. We thank you for considering the people of Ohio in your decision-making process.

http://kucinich.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=49873