Free Republic

Nine days after grocery clerks across Southern California went on strike, third-year Japanese student Irene Chen crossed their picket line for the first time to buy some fruit at the Westwood Ralphs on Tuesday. "We tried to avoid it, but we just needed some fruit," Chen said, as she handed a bagged papaya to her visiting boyfriend. Chen said alternative stores such as Whole Foods Market did not have the variety of fruit she wanted for reasonable enough prices. With no end in sight for talks between the United Food and Commercial Workers union and the major supermarket chains, many...