"How were you saying they should get along on $8.50 an hour?"
Agreed noone but a live at home student could survive on 8.50 hr.
So why then do you shop Non Union Stater Bros?
If their labor is worth $8.50 they had better upgrade their skills beyond waving packages above a beam of infra red light.
I originally started shopping at Stater Bros becuase they do not have the club card - you know, that stupid silly card you have to carry around in your wallet to get a discount. Stater Bros does not have that.
As for union store, non-union store, I don't pay attention to that in where I shop. If I thought about it on those terms, I would shop at Stater Bros because it is an independent. There are far too few grocery companies here.
Kind of interesting to think about what has happened to the grocery industry in the Western U.S...Three companies buy up a bunch of independents. Eventually prices rise, overhead creeps up. Whamo, you have a situation ripe for someone like Walmart to come in.