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It's on the Breaking News Sidebar
Posted on 10/10/2003 4:20:45 AM PDT by heleny
Edited on 04/14/2004 10:06:25 PM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
Negotiators for supermarket chains will meet with representatives of grocery clerks today in talks arranged by federal mediators in an attempt to avert a possible strike that could begin as early as Saturday.
More than 70,000 supermarket workers across Southern California have been voting this week on whether to authorize a strike against Ralphs, Albertsons, Vons and Vons' Pavilion[s] markets. The results of that voting will be announced this morning. Union leaders and company negotiators will then begin talks this afternoon at offices of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. It will be the first meeting between the sides since a labor contract covering the workers expired Monday.
(Excerpt) Read more at 2.ocregister.com ...
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/state/20031009-0438-ca-groceryclerks-labor.html
Some SoCal grocery workers OK strike
Supermarkets, union agree on mediation
ASSOCIATED PRESS
4:38 a.m. October 9, 2003LOS ANGELES -- Supermarket chains and union leaders agreed to meet in federal mediation on Friday as thousands of grocery clerks voted to authorize a strike if the mediation fails.
In three different votes on Wednesday, 98 percent of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 770 members approved the strike. Union votes were expected in other counties Thursday and Friday, with results to be announced Friday. A two-thirds majority is needed for a strike to be authorized.
Negotiations between the union and the three supermarket chains -- Kroger Co.'s Ralphs, Safeway Inc.'s Vons and Albertsons Inc. -- ended Sunday, and the contract covering over 70,000 Southern California grocery clerks has since expired.
Nearly 900 stores from Santa Barbara to San Diego would be affected if workers were to strike, which could happen as early as Saturday. The last time the grocery workers went on strike was 1978 and it lasted less than a week.
Rod Diamond, Local 770 secretary-treasurer, told a cheering crowd of union members Wednesday that "nobody gets anything unless you fight for it."
After weeks negotiating, including a marathon stretch last week, both sides were still at odds over several key issues, especially proposed changes by the companies to the scope and cost of employees' health care coverage.
The companies want the workers to take on a larger share of the cost for their health benefits, citing a sluggish economy, rising health care costs and increased competition from rival chains such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc., that employ nonunion workers.
"As responsible companies, we are seeking nothing more than a fair contract that will help us to remain competitive in the face of soaring health care and benefit costs and increased competition from lower-cost operators," Ralphs President John Burgon said in a statement earlier in the week.
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/cctimes/6981359.htm
Posted on Fri, Oct. 10, 2003East Bay Biz Buzz: Grocery labor threatens strike
The largest labor union representing Southern California supermarket workers voted to strike against Kroger Co., Albertson's Inc. and Pleasanton-based Safeway Inc. (SWY) after rejecting a final contract offer by the three largest U.S. supermarket companies. Safeway owns Vons stores.
The strike was authorized by 98 percent of the voting members of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 770, union spokeswoman Barbara Maynard said. Six other locals will decide by today if they too will vote for a work stoppage, which could begin Saturday.
The grocery chains said they plan to keep their stores open if there's a strike, which would be the first by the union against the supermarket chains in Southern California in 25 years. The proposed contract would shift about $1 billion in health care costs to workers, the union has said. The companies are trying to trim employees' benefits as non-unionized Wal-Mart Stores Inc., prepares to open stores in California that sell groceries.
A mediator from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service plans to hold a meeting Friday between the union and the supermarkets, Maynard said.
Have you ever seen Mexicans working in any of those three supermarkets? Most checkout clerks and shelf-stockers with those union jobs are American, and they are predominantly white. Supposedly the pay is pretty good for unskilled labor. At nonunionized supermarkets, such as Asian food stores, some workers speak broken English but the prices are lower.
I think they'll try to rein in any problems. Think of the bad press they'd get if they knocked down a normal shopper trying to buy milk and food for his/her children.
I hope they are sensible.
Sorry for not seeing it. I need to wake up some more!
My niece works at Lucky's. As of two years ago, she was earning $18 per hour, plus benefits. On holidays like Thanksgiving, she makes triple time, or $54 per hour.
I only wish Florida had supermarkets that doubled the coupons.
WOW! So if she worked 10 hours on Thanksgiving she could earn $540. Not a bad payday!!! Is Lucky's also open on Christmas Day and New Years Day?
Ralphs and Vons do that, but their prices are generally high enough to subsidize their losses. There aren't usually any coupons for fresh produce, dairy, or meat, all of which are more expensive at these stores than at other grocery stores, but it's always a nice feeling to get two boxes of name-brand cereal for a few cents or find some other such discount. Albertsons doesn't double coupons.
The LA Times long ago figured out that they couldn't sell their paper based on news reporting or editorial pages, so their sales pitch is always that you can save $200/week with their Sunday coupons at a price of only $1 for weekend delivery or $2 for the entire week. You have to want to buy everything in the coupon section to save as much as they claim.
Doesn't Hughs also have double coupons?
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