California Grocery Clerks Go on Strike...

Reuters ^ | 10/12/03 | Kevin Krolicki

[SouthWall]

The union representing some 70,000 Southern California grocery workers called a strike against Safeway Inc.'s SWY.N Vons and two rival supermarket chains responded on Sunday by locking out union workers.

Picket lines organized by the United Food and Commercial Workers Union formed at stores from Los Angeles to San Diego, the first grocery strike in 25 years in the area, one of the nation's most populous and a key market for the chains.

In response to the Vons strike, Albertsons Inc. ABS.N and Kroger Co.'s KR.N Ralphs, which are covered by the same master contract, locked out union workers from the first shift on Sunday.

All three chains kept stores open with replacement workers who had been hired in preparation for the possible strike, said Sandra Calderon, a spokeswoman for Vons.

[SouthWall]

There is a great picture on Drudgereport.com showing a striker outside a Von's supermarket. In the background, behind the striker, a sign says "now hiring."

I saved the picture, but do no know how to post it. I know html, but how do you upload pic?

[finnman69]

[Support Free Republic]

---

GOD BLESS OUR MILITARY THANK A VET! MAKE A DONATION TODAY
	Keep Our Republic Free Or mail checks to FreeRepublic , LLC PO BOX 9771 FRESNO, CA 93794 or you can use PayPal at Jimrob@psnw.com
STOP BY AND BUMP THE FUNDRAISER and say THANKS to Jim Robinson! IT'S IN THE BREAKING NEWS SIDEBAR Thanks

[yankeedame]

I know I just heard on the 12noon news that the Kroger workers here in the Dayton, OH area are going on a "sympathy strike". (The sympathy not being, of course, for the consumer) Thank heavens Wal-Mart sells milk and eggs.

[Tulsa Brian]

Gee, this wouldn't have anything to do with the recent recall of Davis, would it? The lib unions creating a phoney crisis to harass the new governor, would it?

[Joe Hadenuf]

Fire them all, they need to pay for all their own medical benefits like everyone else. Let them go to county hospital and get in line with the illegal aliens.

We don't need baggers anyway. They don't have them in Europe, as everyone bags their own stuff. Fire the lazy cashiers too. We can scan our own stuff. Fire the stockers too, as we can just pick through the boxes. Sell the shelves.

There lucky to to even have jobs that pay them money.

Look at all the hard working illegal aliens, they don't complain, they could care less about benefits and they work harder, for less money than lazy Americans.

They're all just a bunch whining, freeloading lazy American's. Fire them all.

[SouthWall]

Thanks

[Poohbah]

The lockout is a negotiating tactic--force the union to deplete its strike fund three times faster than planned. The union begged for Albertson's and Ralph's to keep their employees--not a wise tactic, because it told everyone that the UFCW strike fund is not up to the task. Gotta wonder what happened to all the strike fund donations over the years?

[dakine]

Meat Cutters $19.00 an hour! Last time I had a job I made $6.75! My, how times have changed!!

[AmishDude]

Shut up and bag.

[TheBigB]

Glad I live in a right-to-work state (TN). I have never in my life even seen a live picket line, as the employees down here know that if they strike, they're out on their @sses.

[Roarkdude]

If you cross the picket line (like me) make sure you take a flyer from a striker. It has a list of other union stores to avoid.

[FourPeas]

Clerks in my neck of the woods are very well paid with good benefits, too. If it's the same situation in CA, in this economy, this could easily backfire.

[FourPeas]

make sure you take a flyer from a striker

That, and it costs them money.

[Zevonismymuse]

Shut up and bag.

I am trying to go every day to Albertson's in Buellton to cross the picket line. Most union workers are Clinton Lovers. These people are the "soccer mom" vote who have taken bread off my family's table.

My husband lost his job in Santa Barbara when the greenies drove Mobil Oil out. Now my husband has to commute 2 hours a day to Ventura. I don't member any of these greedy, unskilled cry-babies coming to his rescue.

I can scan my own groceries.

[AmishDude]

Yep. All of the supermarkets are going to self-scan (coming to a supermarket near you very very soon) which basically only needs one person to monitor 4-6 lanes. Many people prefer to bag themselves, too. I was surprised when I lived in NJ to see unionized grocery workers. It's an entry-level, zero-risk, zero-skill job. It's McDonald's.

[stylin_geek]

I think this strike is a very unwise move, especially with jobs being scarce. If I were a company, I would consider this to be an ideal time to bust the union out.

[strela]

If you cross the picket line (like me) make sure you take a flyer from a striker.

WAAAAAYYYYY too scratchy and rough. Charmin is MUCH better.

[Myrddin]

Gotta wonder what happened to all the strike fund donations over the years?

Look at the elegant union halls, fancy cars and big salaries for the union bosses. That's where the money goes. I've worked on the management side of 3 strikes while I worked at PacBell. The union strike fund barely offers a crappy bag of groceries to the striking employees. If a union member dares to cross the the line, they can be fined all the money they earn and more. If you live in Southern California, the last thing you need is to go on strike with exorbitant rents and mortgages.

The usual PacBell strategy was to keep the union walking the picket line until the payroll savings exceeded all the increased pay and benefits that they were willing to conceded at the bargaining table. The union members ALWAYS lose. The hourly pay losses will always exceed what the fat cat bosses negotiate at the table. It's a game that keeps the union bosses rolling in money and the members pockets raided to cover political contributions to Democrats.

The secondary benefit accrued at PacBell was more subtle. They figured out how to run the company more efficiently with fewer union people. The strikes give them a chance to test new ideas. The usual consequence is a phaseout of jobs that can be done more efficiently. In the central offices, the wire chiefs take care of fixing stuff that their incompetent subordinates can not or will not fix. Making such fixes during an active contract would be cause for a grievance to be filed.

How does this apply to a grocery strike? The Walmart model of non-union employees that can do those jobs without exorbitant pay and benefits packages. Installation of self-scan checkout machines (we have them in Idaho at Fred Meyer's) to achieve a 4X reduction in cashier costs. Unemployment rates are sufficiently high to provide a large labor pool of folks willing to work for a lower compensation.