Southern California's grocery workers overwhelmingly voted to ratify the contract agreement with Ralphs, Vons and Albertsons last weekend. The contract was ratified by an overwhelming margin at the meetings throughout Southern California. All seven United Food and Commercial Workers Unions recommended that grocery workers ratify the contract.
The contract ratified by grocery workers last weekend is a four-year contract that will be valid through March 6, 2011.
This contract is a huge victory for grocery workers. From the beginning we set very clear goals that we wanted to eliminate the unfair two-tier wage structure. We wanted wage increases for grocery workers who haven't had a wage increase in five years. And, we wanted to improve the eligibility and benefits of the health care coverage that grocery workers receive. We met all of these goals and more.
Over the past seven months of negotiations, grocery workers received an outpouring of support from community leaders and customers. Over 50,000 people signed a pledge that they would not shop at Ralphs, Albertsons or Vons if there was a lockout or strike. This support was instrumental in helping the grocery workers get a fair contract.
"This is an important victory not only for grocery workers and their families, but for communities throughout Southern California that depend on good jobs," said Rev. Anna Olson, Deputy director of Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice. "The community stood with these workers because it was the right thing to do, and because we know that restoring quality jobs in the grocery industry is critical to the future of our region's middle class."
Click here to read highlights from the new contract!
Grocery union fought for unity
By Jerry Hirsch
Los Angeles Times
July 24, 2007
A newly approved contract reverses a two-tier pay system that had divided workers and hurt morale.
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.
Grocery Workers: In Their Own Words
Ultimately, this campaign is about the men and women who work in Southern California's supermarkets – about the hard work they put in every day, and the respect they deserve from management for helping the supermarkets not only become profitable again, but to do so in a record-breaking way.
We hope you'll take a moment to hear directly from the remarkable individuals who make Southern California's supermarkets work!
Welcome to RespectWorkers.com
We've launched this site to serve as a clearinghouse for the latest news and information about negotiations over the new contract for Southern California's grocery workers. Please read more about our goals for this contract campaign, the record profits the Southern California supermarkets are currently raking in, and corrections of the misinformation that corporate management is using to avoid showing grocery workers the respect they deserve.
Check back often to keep up with the latest news on the contract campaign, as well as to read testimonials from the men and women who work in Southern California's supermarkets. In the meantime, we invite you to join our online contract campaign so we can show the unity that will ensure our success and keep you updated on our progress.
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What are Grocery Workers Asking for in a Contract?
In a word, Respect.
Grocery workers have worked hard to get the supermarkets back into the black, and now that they are successful -- with average profits of nearly $3 billion last year alone -- they should share the success with their grocery workers.
It's only fair.
Demand Respect for grocery workers. Support the Union Contract Campaign!
