Teamsters Business Agent Arrested in NH

Strike at Pembroke's Associated Grocers Northeast

11/11/26

"Local grocery stores across New England running low on stock as truck drivers strike..."

"...Union officials said that the strike has already disrupted deliveries across New England and New York..."

"...New Hampshire grocery stores are reporting empty shelves as a result of the strike. “We have no milk. We’re almost completely out of eggs,” said Shirley Stretton, who works at Richardson’s Market in Portsmouth. “Our shelves are looking pretty bare.”..."

-Valley News 11/11/26

"...A lot of these businesses are very nervous because these are not big retailers, they’re not corporate entities, they’re smaller, family-owned operations that are looking to serve their communities,” Fowler said. “With the holiday season, there’s a lot of uncertainty right now.”

Fowler, whose father opened Vernette’s Market in 1943, stressed the important role these stores play in their communities.

“[The markets] are really a labor of love and service in the community, and it’s going to be a tough run of it,” she said..."

-Boston.com 11/10/26

"...The workers stood in the way of delivery trucks coming to and from the facility. They cleared the path to let the trucks go through, but not before giving the driver a few pointed shouts..."

-Concord Monitor 11/05/25

"...The strike’s potential impact extends beyond grocery stores. Buffalo Mountain Market, a food co-op in Hardwick, Vermont, warned that delivery disruptions could affect local food banks and food pantries that depend on regular shipments..."

-Inc. 11/08/26

"News 9 has obtained exclusive video of a union agent being arrested Friday night on the picket line at Associated Grocers Northeast.

Keith Judge, of Teamsters Local 633, faces two counts of obstructing government operations, New Hampshire State Police confirmed.

The arrest followed a 911 call from a contracted driver for Associated Grocers. The driver reported that a red vehicle was repeatedly swerving in front of his commercial truck.

Exclusive dashcam footage captured a red truck swerving ahead of the delivery vehicle..."

-WMUR 11/09/26

More Info

In the 1940s a handful of mom-and-pop grocery stores joined together for purchasing and distribution, local small businesses trying to stay afloat even while so much of retail came to be dominated by chains and multinational corporations. That model proved successful, with the retailers' cooperative growing into what is now Associated Grocers Northeast -- serving over six hundred independent grocery and convenience stores across eight states.

Teamsters Local 633, the largest union in the state, is currently striking Associated Grocers Northeast's central distribution center in Pembroke, New Hampshire. In states like New Hampshire that lack Right to Work laws, private-sector employees can be compelled to fund unions like the Teamsters as a condition of employment.

Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander, newly elected Executive Council Member Jim O’Connell, and State Representatives Ken Nivison and Mariana Beer of Pembroke joined the picket line to show their support.

Keith Judge, the union Business Agent who was reportedly arrested, received disbursements totaling $244,958 from Teamsters Local 633 in 2025, according to the union's most-recent LM-2 report.

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