Grocery Store Workers Vote on Whether to Strike

Unionized grocery workers across Southern California will begin voting today on the latest health care proposal from Ralphs, Albertsons and Vons and whether to authorize a strike.

Union officials have condemned the grocery chains' health care offer,
saying workers would be forced to spend almost half of their salaries to cover health costs.

The grocery chains insist that the latest proposal would maintain most
health care expenses at their current levels and cost workers only $9 a week for single coverage or $23 for family coverage.

"The employers' goal throughout these negotiations is to provide their
employees with a solid compensation package, including affordable health care, and to also produce an agreement that will enable the companies to compete in Southern California in a difficult economy with aggressive, low-cost competition,'' according to a statement released by the companies when the health care proposal was offered.

Although the grocers have reached an agreement with the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 770 on pensions, there is still no accord on health care or wages.

Grocery workers voted in April to authorize a strike, but will cast ballots again today and Saturday to respond to the latest offer.

"Rather than sit down and negotiate a compromise fair to the corporations and their employees, the corporations that own Ralphs, Vons and Albertsons chose to force their employees to take this vote,'' union President Rick Icaza said. "We don't want to strike. We want to get back to work taking care of customers and our families.''

The grocery employees' previous contract expired March 6, but they have continued to work under the terms of the previous pact.

The most recent contract was ratified in 2007 after about seven months of negotiations. In 2003-04, a grocery workers strike and lockout dragged on for 141 days, wiping out the savings of most workers and costing supermarkets an estimated $1.5 billion.

—City News Service