Grocery Union Threatens Pickets Across U.S., Canada

Reuters (via Yahoo News) ^ | 16 December 2003 | Sue Zeidler

[CounterCounterCulture]

Bust the unions!

[BunnySlippers]

This has been going on since mid-October. When do the stores get to hire other workers PERMANENTLY???

[CounterCounterCulture]

Associated Press version...

Unions Want Boycott for Grocery Clerks

Tue Dec 16,11:14 PM ET By ALEX VEIGA, AP Business Writer

LOS ANGELES - Union leaders plan to urge members to boycott North American stores owned by Safeway Inc. in support of 70,000 grocery clerks who've been on strike for two months in Southern California.

"We want to empty those stores," said Doug Dority, international president of the United Food and Commercial Workers, on Tuesday. "We want to make sure these cash registers are empty."

Safeway, Albertsons Inc. and Kroger Co. are locked in the dispute with their Southern California workers over the cost of health care coverage and other issues.

Union leaders have said they consider Safeway the leader of the management side.

In some cases, the UFCW also planned to extend picket lines to Safeway stores outside the region in an attempt to keep employees from reporting to work, said UFCW national spokesman Greg Denier.

He declined to say when the boycott campaign would begin.

Safeway officials said they didn't expect the tactic to influence the dispute.

The unions' strategy was announced after 500 leaders and workers met for two hours behind closed doors at a hotel and then marched with thousands of other workers to a supermarket in Beverly Hills.

Clerks went on strike or were locked out Oct. 11 at nearly 860 Ralphs, Albertsons, Vons and Pavilions stores from San Diego to San Luis Obispo. Safeway owns the Vons and Pavilion chains.

Negotiations were scheduled to resume Friday for the first time in 10 days.

The UFCW said the chains had shaved $1.08 an hour off their proposed contribution to health care premiums.

The grocery companies countered they were no longer willing to absorb all the costs involved in maintaining health care benefits, saying they face pressure from Wal-Mart, Costco and other supermarket operators that don't pay as much toward employee benefits.

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[TheSpottedOwl]

This is getting old. Imo, the unions are being unreasonable.

[Don W]

I never shop at Safeway, but if these twits start picketing, guess where my next grocery trip is to.

[BurbankKarl]

why on earth would they do that? the pickets arent being honored here in LA, and most of their membership is looking for lower paying jobs...

[CWOJackson]

Looks like I'm going to be shopping at Safeway a lot soon.

[eleni121]

I wish the unionists would do their walking around here---that would give me an excuse to shop there.

[Smogger]

why on earth would they do that? the pickets arent being honored here in LA, and most of their membership is looking for lower paying jobs...

The pickets are being honored out here in Ontario (suburbia), out here there are already plenty of alternatives to Albertsons, Vons, and Ralphs. Combined with the teamsters sympathy strikes at distribution warehoueses and there is NO POINT in crossing the picket lines. The stores are largely empty of merchandise anyhow, and their bakeries, pharmacies, delli's are all closed (which is the main reason to go to a store like Alebertson's anyhow).

A pox on both their houses.

[randog]

I live next door in Nevada and shop at Safeway. It'll be interesting to see if my store strikes....a week before Christmas.

[BurbankKarl]

thats not true...the stores have stuff delivered by vendors and non union trucks.....yes, there are shortages....

of course, now a group of us is hitting Wal-Mart every 10 days.....man are their prices low!

[Tacis]

These union fat cats would happily starve millions of Americans if it allowed them to get a nickel more in union dues. And, they wonder why millions of jobs flee the country to escape their extortion.

[Smogger]

yes, there are shortages....

Running out of microwave popcorn, and dogfood is what I would call a BIGTIME shortage. And this is at FOOD 4 LESS which is only affected by the Teamsters sympathy strike NOT by picketers.

[cake_crumb]

"Over the next few weeks, the United Food and Commercial Workers union said it would ask consumers not to shop at Safeway stores. Protests could also broaden to include acts of civil disobedience by supporting religious groups, a union spokesman said after a rally in Los Angeles."

"Religious groups" and unions. What a combinatiom. If anyone needed any more evidence that the WCC is the Enemy, this should convince them.

Up theirs. THIS consumer will shop wherever she darned well PLEASES, and is NOW more likely to stop at stores that ARE being picketed.

Unions have been ruining this country since the '70's. We NEED a national right to work law.

[mikeb704]

Others who spoke at the press conference included John Sweeney, president of the AFL-CIO umbrella union body; Melissa Gilbert, president of the Screen Actors Guild. . .

It appears as though half-pint has developed into a half-wit.

Michael M. Bates: My Side of the Swamp

[cake_crumb]

"We will not allow the elimination of health care benefits"

Grey signed legislation forcing companies to pay health benefits to gay partners, didn't he? Companies can't afford it.

[Digger]

These union fat cats would happily starve millions of Americans if it allowed them to get a nickel more in union dues. And, they wonder why millions of jobs flee the country to escape their extortion.

These idiots - the true sheeple of this country - have NO clue why we cross the picket lines. BTW I find it so much nicer shopping in an uncrowed store with people who look happy to be working rather than before when again THEIR social schedule talking to their co-workers while I was in line. I just hope that the stores (in this issue) hold out forever. I do not want these ingrates back in my face ever again.

[Beck_isright]

Not a problem down here. Good luck to the rest of you.

[caisson71]

You can bet I'll be doing ALL my shopping at Safeway!!

[Smogger]

We NEED a national right to work law.

California is already a "right to work" state. You can by terminated at any time for any reason. Likewise you can quit at anytime for any reason. Furthermore, you can't be bound by non-competition clauses.