Newsroom

By Peter Dreier
Guest Columnist
LA Daily News
July 25, 2007

Dodgers pitcher Brad Penny, who suffered a big slump in the second half of last season, is having a great year so far. But my nominee for the "comeback of the year" award is the United Food and Commercial Workers, the union that represents 65,000 grocery workers from Bakersfield to the Mexican border.

Earlier this week, the workers voted to approve a new contract with Southern California's three major supermarket chains - Ralphs, Albertson's and Vons. The settlement restores almost all the losses in pay and health benefits that employees suffered three years ago following a 141-day strike and lockout. Once again, working at a unionized grocery chain store will mean solid, secure middle-class jobs that can sustain families and the economic vitality of communities.

By Jerry Hirsch
Los Angeles Times
July 24, 2007

The new labor agreement for Southern California grocery workers approved over the weekend contains a cautionary message for employers: Two-tier pay scales are trouble.

Although that approach may slash labor expenses, it also can divide a workforce into groups of haves and have-nots, labor experts say, and it doesn't always turn out to be the cost-saver companies expect.

Union officials said Monday that 87% of Southern California grocery workers who voted approved a new contract that tossed out a controversial two-tier pay scale that was included in the last contract.

"This is partially an admission that two-tier systems don't work," said Ken Jacobs, chairman of the UC Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Education.

By Alex Veiga
Associated Press
July 23, 2007

Workers at three major Southern California supermarket chains overwhelmingly approved a new contract that provides their first raise in five years and rolls back key wage and benefit concessions made after a 141-day strike-lockout in 2004, union officials said Monday.

The deal was ratified by more than 87 percent of the workers who voted during the weekend, according to the United Food and Commercial Workers union.

More than half of the 65,000 workers at nearly 800 stores cast ballots, said Sandra Lloyd-Jones, a UFCW spokeswoman.

"We stood up to the employers and we demanded a fair contract and we got one," said Sharlette Villacorta, an Albertsons employee in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Los Feliz.

By Nancy Luna
The Orange County Register
July 19, 2007

Vons, Ralphsand Albertsons employees will vote Sunday on a new contract after months of intense negotiations aimed at averting another financially draining strike - for both workers and employers.

If the pact is approved, it also would mean fewer headaches for thousands of Southern California consumers who were expected to change shopping routines to avoid crossing picket lines. Details of the tentative agreement - reached late Tuesday night - were not revealed.

By Jerry Hirsch
Los Angeles Times
July 18, 2007

Fears of a supermarket strike this summer in Southern and Central California evaporated Tuesday when the region's largest grocery chains and the union representing 65,000 store employees reached a tentative agreement on a new four-year contract.

The accord would make up some of the ground the United Food and Commercial Workers union lost in a bitter, lengthy walkout and lockout 3 1/2 years ago.

"We have recovered a lot without a strike," said Rick Icaza, president of UFCW Local 770 in Los Angeles. "I think our members will overwhelmingly accept this. The wage increase and improvement in health plan benefits are significant."

By Penni Crabtree
San Diego Union-Tribune
July 17, 2007

Marathon bargaining sessions continued yesterday between three supermarket chains and the union that represents 65,000 Southern California grocery workers, after “significant” progress in contract negotiations, according to those close to the talks.

But contentious issues remain in the areas of wage increases and funding improvements in health insurance coverage, a spokesman for the United Food and Commercial Workers union said yesterday.

“We've talked through the weekend and we're still at the table, but we are not there on wages and haven't even talked about health care funding,” said Mike Shimpock, spokesman for the union. “We will stay at the table as long as we are making progress, and we feel we are making progress now.”

By Ruth Milkman, professor of sociology and director of the UCLA Institute for Research on Labor and Employment, is the author of "L.A. Story: Immigrant Workers and the Future of the U.S. Labor Movement.
Los Angeles Times
July 15, 2007

WITH Southern California's supermarket chains and grocery union apparently making progress in their contract negotiations, the chances of a replay of the disastrous 141-day work stoppage in 2003-04 may be diminishing. After more than six months of negotiations between the United Food and Commercial Workers and Ralphs, Vons and Albertsons, differences on wages and pension issues reportedly have narrowed, though hurdles remain, especially on health insurance. For the workers, the risks of another walkout would be enormous. They lost big four years ago, and they have far fewer resources to draw on than the big chains. It's a classic David-and-Goliath situation, and Goliath does not seem to be in a generous mood.

Labor strife is fairly new to the Southern California grocery industry. Before 2003, the region's union contracts were among the best in the nation, providing pay and benefits that allowed non-college-educated workers to enjoy a decent standard of living, including excellent health insurance coverage. Today, however, the contracts in Southern California are among the worst in the country, with dramatically reduced health benefits and a two-tier wage and benefit structure that sharply divides longtime employees from newer ones.

The Associated Press
July 9, 2007

LOS ANGELES—Three major supermarket operators and their Southern California employees' union resumed negotiations for a new contract on Monday amid preparations by the union take a key step toward a possible strike.

The talks follow a recess since the July Fourth holiday. Since then, the United Food and Commercial Workers has begun mobilizing its membership to craft picket signs and stockpile supplies in the event of a strike.

Rick Icaza, president of the union's Local 770 in Los Angeles and one of the negotiators, has said the union will cancel the automatic, daily renewal of its members' current contract sometime this week. Such a move doesn't mean workers would be on strike, but it would clear the way for the union to order a walkout.

"Unless we do it, I don't think we're going to get any movement on the part of the employers," Icaza said Monday.

By Jerry Hirsch
Los Angeles Times
July 6, 2007

The Southern California grocery workers union turned up the heat a little more Thursday by warning the big supermarket chains that it was prepared to cancel a temporary agreement that so far has prevented a strike.

The contract for 65,000 workers at Ralphs, Albertsons and Vons was set to expire March 5 but has remained in force through a rolling extension that requires a 72-hour cancellation notice by either the United Food and Commercial Workers union or the supermarket chains.

On Thursday, UFCW Local 770 President Rick Icaza said the Los Angeles-based bargaining unit was prepared to give the employers notice of cancellation sometime next week if the supermarket companies didn't start to compromise in contract talks set to resume Monday.

"We don't want to strike," Icaza said. "But our members are willing to fight for what they are entitled to."

By Julia M. Scott
LA Daily News
July 3, 2007

Grocery negotiations recessed for the July Fourth holiday but workers said they would start making picket signs and stocking food banks in case of a strike, officials announced Tuesday.

Talks between Vons, Ralphs, and Albertson's and the United Food and Commercial Workers union will resume Monday, according to a federal mediator running the discussions.

Workers will prepare for the worst over the break by stockpiling picket signs and food for members at union headquarters across the region.

Employees will also learn what do to if there is a strike, lockout, contract extension or ratification vote.

"We're taking that time to ready ourselves in case they don't go so well next week," said union spokesman Mike Shimpock.