Southern California grocery store workers vote to strike — including SLO County
More than 47,000 supermarket employees — including some 1,500 in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties — could go on strike, after their unions overwhelmingly voted to authorize action against Ralphs, Albertsons, Vons and Pavilions.
According to a news release Sunday, members of seven Southern and Central California United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) chapters voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike at the grocery store chains.
This includes UFCW 770, which represents grocery workers from Atascadero to Santa Barbara.
The strike has been authorized if it should become necessary, but it is not a guarantee, according to the release.
The unions launched the strike vote after contract negotiations stalled earlier this month. A San Luis Obispo County worker told The Tribune the unions and companies could not come to an agreement on wage increases.
The companies have also been accused of violating labor laws and using intimidation tactics on workers engaging in union activities.
“The companies are not playing fair by violating our rights and federal labor laws,” Bargaining Committee member Rachel Fournier said in the release. “After all the hard work we’ve done through the COVID pandemic serving customers so they can feed their families, we deserve to be able to feed ours.
“This has to change,” she added. “It is time for the grocery corporations to do better and come back to the bargaining table with an adequate contract proposal that respects our work.”
Grocery chain responds to strike vote
Ralphs, one of the four stores whose workers could potentially strike, responded to the results of the vote Sunday, saying its stores would remain open to serve Southern California communities and that bargaining would continue March 30.
“Our proposal invests $141 million in new wages and prevents increases in health costs. This is a serious commitment by Ralphs to Southern California and to our exceptional associates,” Robert Branton, vice president of operations at Ralphs, said in a news release. “Our three goals throughout negotiations are to reward and invest in our people, keep groceries affordable for our customers and maintain a sustainable business that creates jobs in the future. Ralphs’ proposal meets all three goals. The current UFCW proposal only meets one of those goals. We encourage the UFCW to join us in meaningful and balanced negotiations to promptly deliver wage increases to our associates.”
According to the release, Ralph’s latest proposal would ensure top rate associates receive a $2 hourly increase to their current pay, and all associates would receive wage increases through the life of the contract.
The company says the union’s proposed increase of $5 per hour would raise grocery prices for customers.
“For example, Ralphs is offering a full-time cashier with five years of experience a pay raise of nearly 9% over the life of the contract,” read the release. “The UFCW proposal seeks a more than 20% increase. This is a non-starter — and would lead to $400 more in grocery bills annually for the typical Southern California family. Not only would the union’s wage proposal raise grocery prices, but it could also push many customers to non-union competitors who do not respect collective bargaining and ultimately reduced market share and unionized employment at Ralphs.“
Contract negotiations are expected to resume March 30, according to the release. No dates have been set yet for a strike.
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