Southern California Markets to close stores on Thanksgiving due to labor dispute

Associated Press (via San Jose Mercury News) ^ | 26 November 2003 | Alex Veiga

[CounterCounterCulture]

Markets to close stores on Thanksgiving due to labor dispute

ALEX VEIGA
Associated Press

LOS ANGELES - Doors will be closed Thanksgiving Day at nearly 860 Southern California supermarkets because of the labor dispute between three supermarket operators and some 70,000 striking or locked-out grocery clerks.

The chains' stores - Albertsons, Vons, Pavilions and Ralphs - traditionally have opened for business for at least a few hours on Thanksgiving Day. They decided last week, however, not to open during the holiday. The stores will reopen Friday.

(snip)

The union turned up the pressure on the chains Monday by extending its picket lines to the chains' distribution centers. Teamster truck drivers and warehouse employees refused to cross the lines, forcing the chains to hire more replacement workers to keep supplies flowing.

At least one union local did not trust that the chains would close their doors Thursday, and planned to keep workers manning picket lines at 39 stores.

[CounterCounterCulture]

Articles from bayarea.com are required to be excerpted

[CounterCounterCulture]

Previous thread:
Teamsters Join Calif. Supermarket Strike (24 November 2003)

[South40]

Union thugs/slugs/dregs SUCK!

Really.

[RS]

The checkers would pull seniority and fight to work those "few hours" they were open on holidays - the one I talked to at Vons a while back said she was pulling down over $40/hr.

The stores just might get used to being closed holidays - another thing for the strikers to think about as they see that $40/Hr "bonus" they are NOT going to get this year.

[PRND21]

The parking lot at the local Von's is getting more crowded by the week.
Crush the liberal union!

[BJungNan]

The parking lot at the local Von's is getting more crowded by the week. Crush the liberal union!

The Von's and Ralphs and Albertson stores here are deserted. Very few people are crossing the line. Handfuls. Parking lots empty, not full.

And with the consolidation of the all the grocery chains under one company out here, it is not the union that needs to be crushed.

How is it that one company was allowed to buy up so many markets? There is more wrong than than the little bit the workers are seeking.

[NordP]

Von's and Ralphs are alive and well in San Diego - and we're proudly seeing to it, that they are.

I have to pay $250 a month for my health insurance. The workers need to gain a bit of perspective. I'd LOVE to have 92% of my healthcare paid for, but I chose my career, and I'll have to live with it. They might want to live with their choice, 'cause it's not a bad one.

Union's day has come and gone. We need to take American businesses back from the tyranny of the Mafia-esque Unions!!!

[PRND21]

There is more wrong than than the little bit the workers are seeking.

Agreed. But this strike is about overpaying people to push a bag of carrots over a laser reader.

[Fitzcarraldo]

Two days ago, the little wife has ordered the Vons "Dinner in a Box" on Thanksgiving. By some hidden talent for precognition, she ordered this years Box to be picked up at Noon on Friday.

[Moonmad27]

The several Vons around here in Ventura certainly weren't deserted the past few days, and looked fairly busy. I shop there more often now, to show that I support the stores and not the strikers.

[RS]

"The Von's and Ralphs and Albertson stores here are deserted. Very few people are crossing the line."

Well, either the people are starving, or they have found somewhere else to shop - The employees on strike had better hope that those people don't come to like the new stores.

This might give them a taste of what it will be like when Walmart and Target open up grocery divisions in their markets... ( but maybe they can get a job there...)

[Brimack34]

I have to pay $375.00 a month. Also sick of these people bichen about health care. We have the same thing in MN. leading employer howling about paying $100 a month--Top employer by the way is the State of MN.

[Cvengr]

Handel on KFYI this morning had a different take on the strike. His perpective is that WalMart is moving in on a grand scale. A non-union shop which is going to change the marketplace. Grocery stores ala Von's, Ralph's, etc are going to go the same route as mom and pop stores 40 years ago, i.e. defunct. The new paradigm is for 200,000 SF megastores ala Costco, Sam's Club, and variations on the larger theme. Food 4 Less/Krogers probably comes the closest to the transition, but economy of scale favors the larger stores.

The strike has now opened the door for the people to naturally shift to another shopping culture. Trader Joe's at one end of the spectrum for specialty items and a megastore for nearly all others.

The only way for the stores targeted by the strikers to remian competitive is to drop prices, get out of the quirky 'Bonus Buy' mentality of charging 2x-3x market rates if you don't have a card with them, and instead focusing on the cost to travel to an outlying megastore versus buying locally from the supermarket.

Labor skills at the market are now falling by the wayside.

This strike may have been schemed by others to justify a mass layoff and restructuring. If not, then WalMart is making a big play at an opportune time.

[BJungNan]

The several Vons around here in Ventura certainly weren't deserted the past few days, and looked fairly busy. I shop there more often now, to show that I support the stores and not the strikers.

I generally don't like strikes but in this instance I find myself very supportive of the grocery workers. This is not a case where they are asking for gobs more money or benefits. They are just trying to hold on to what they have.

On the other hand, very large companies have bought up several chains and instead of bringing us lower prices as a result and as they should have, the prices are some of the highest in the country. The companies complain they can not compete with Wallmart but I bet if you look at the corporate structure of the two companies you are going to find some very big differences not all explained away by workers salaries. It aint the workers getting the difference.

There is something different about this strike. I say, do not cross the line. These are not greedy people out on the picket line. The greed (or incompetence) is on the other side of the bargaining table.

[BJungNan]

Interesting post. Enjoyed reading what you had to day. The question I have is this: What is the size of Kroger (owns several of the grocery chains) compared to Walmart? You seem to say Walmart grocery is just so much bigger or are you speaking of its marketing approach only?

[AmericanInTokyo]

For that 12% of the American population who NEVER plan ahead for ANYTHING....the's gonna be pissed.

No Thursday Thanksgiving Turkey This year...except maybe on late Friday or Saturday afternoon.

[Just mythoughts]

Seems this is a trial run for a nation wide storm this upcoming election year.

Ecomony is not what the "lying liberals" need to attack President Bush, so must create a problem for as many people as possible.

Liberal created disaster in the making, they hope.

[Cvengr]

Size as in 200,000 square feet of floor space versus a typical supermarket space of 20-50,000 sf. Costco runs around 100-120,000 sf.

Aisles promote stocking by pallet load vice hand stocking and cleaning shelves daily.

Bulk of sales generated by commodity association. Some name brands, but generic is associated as a common item for lessor cost. Public generally doesn't care if the product reads 'Kroger's pitted olives' or 'Kirkland Pitted Olives'.

The generic purchase conglomerate though is picky about their quality in order to be successful. All it takes is one bad subcontract for the consumer to associate the conglomerate name with a typical item that also carries an awkward or distinctive taste which the customer hadn't desired when they purchased generic. e.g. Shasta cola vs Shasta Root Beer.

Megastore would concentrate on bulk of household purchases. Let specialty stores go after markup.

Megastore is also non-union so the unions just shot themselves in the foot. No more basis to finance their unions.

[daviddennis]

I'm not that supportive of the grocery workers because health costs genuinely have gone up much faster than management's ability to pay them. We had a similar crisis at our company, and it resulted in us getting much worse health benefits and having to pay for them. I know it hurt my boss (the owner of the company) to do this because we're a family-owned enterprise where management generall wants to do the best by their people.

That being said, there is an interesting side effect of the grocery consolidation. Grocery prices have increased to the point that the upscale Gelson's market, with better products and far better service, is price-competitive with the mainstream markets most weeks. It used to be that it cost about 10% more to shop at Gelson's. Now it's about the same.

I think a lot of the people who are shopping at Gelson's because they don't want to cross the pickets won't bother returning to Ralph's. This is the real danger of the strike to the major markets.

D

[Moonmad27]

If they are "holding on to what they have", they'd better face reality. Everyone else whose workplace provides insurance is having to pay an increased amount for their portion of the health care costs, why shouldn't the grocer workers? The strikers lost me when they shouted at me as I walked inside, and another time a worker followed me out to my car to lecture me on why I shouldn't give money to the big boss of Vons. Not a way to win friends and influence people! When the strike is over and if these people are allowed back in to work, which I hope they aren't and are replaced, I will not thank the clerk when taking my receipt, but will thank the manager who stayed on the job during the strike and kept the store going.