SoCal Grocery Workers' Contract Expires, Walkout Possible

Los Angeles CA

07 March, 2022

8:04 PM

Description

LOS ANGELES, CA — A labor contract representing workers at several Southern California grocery store chains expired overnight, raising the possibility that workers could authorize a strike if a new agreement isn't quickly reached. Negotiations between the United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 770 and chains including Albertsons, Gelson's, Pavilions, Ralphs, Stater Bros., and Vons broke down over the weekend. Negotiations are expected to continue throughout the week to avert a walkout. However, if an agreement isn't reached by Friday, union leaders expect to schedule a strike authorization vote, a union spokeswoman told Patch. The three-year-old contract that expired at midnight was hammered out prior to the pandemic, and the last two years have seen essential workers hit hard by coronavirus outbreaks. Union members were continuing to work this week under the terms of the expired pact. However, some workers have already started picketing. Last week amid last-minute negotiations, workers picketed outside stores in Los Angeles and Orange counties. Grocery store workers with the Commercial Workers Union Local 770 picketed outside a San Pedro Ralphs on March 1, 2022. (Courtesy of Commercial Workers Union Local 770). The union posted a message on Twitter saying that despite the failure to reach an agreement, the terms and conditions of the previous contract are still in effect. "When we began negotiations with Ralphs and Albertsons/Vons/Pavilions in January, we came prepared with comprehensive proposals and a clear path toward negotiating a contract that reflects your value and the sacrifices you have made," the union said in a series of tweets to its members. "We are disheartened to inform you that Ralphs and Albertsons/Vons/Pavilions squandered the unique opportunity to propose a contract with better wages and benefits in a time of immense profit. They have failed." Ralphs issued a statement saying its stores will remain open and staffed even though the labor contract expired. "It's unfortunate that substantial progress toward reaching an agreement was not made during our 12 total days of bargaining with the union," said Robert Branton, vice president of operations at Ralphs. "While the company made several wage proposals, the union continues to propose very costly items which impacts our ability to meet customer needs and remain competitive." According to Ralphs, it is open to meeting with union leaders to reach a deal that provides: more money for every associate;affordable groceries for customers; anda sustainable business model. "Negotiations are a process and we're committed to reaching an agreement no matter how long it takes," Branton said in a statement. "We are hopeful the union will return to the bargaining table with renewed interest in reaching a balanced agreement." Many Southlanders are haunted by the last major grocery strike when shoppers were forced to cross picket lines or boycott their neighborhood grocery store for several months. In 2003-04, Southland grocery store workers walked off the job over a contract dispute, and the strike lasted 141 days. That work stoppage was estimated by some analysts to have cost the supermarket chains as much as $2 billion, with the workers losing $300 million in wages. During the last round of negotiations in 2019, grocery workers voted to authorize a strike but negotiations continued for two months, and a labor deal was eventually reached, averting a walkout. Union officials said that the agreement included wage increases of $1.55 and $1.65 per hour depending on job classification, with pay retroactive to the date the previous contract expired. Union officials said the pact also included more guaranteed work hours for veteran workers, improvements in health care coverage for employees and their families, full pension funding and the start of a movement to close "the wage gap between job classifications." The union represents more than 40,000 workers at more than 500 stores from Central California and the Mexican border. City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.