SoCal grocery contract negotiation to continue

SoCal grocery contract negotiation to continue Contract negotiations are expected to continue this week between the union representing 65,000 Southern California grocery workers and officials from three major supermarket chains.
   Officials from grocers Albertsons, Ralphs and Vons and the United Food and Commercial Workers union confirmed that talks were held Wednesday through Friday last week, and would likely resume Monday. Both parties have reported progress, and at the request of a federal mediator, have refused to offer any details of ongoing talks to the public or media.
   In two votes, one in March and one late last month, union members authorized the union to call a strike if negotiations break down or stall.
   The union has been negotiating with Safeway Inc.’s Vons and Pavilions units, Kroger Co.’s Ralphs chain, and Supervalu's Albertsons chain since the current contract between the chains and 65,000 union workers expired in March. The contract has been automatically extending on a day-to-day basis while negotiations continued.
   Although the union could call a strike at any time, it is required to give the chains 72-hour notice once that decision is made.
   For their part, the chains have agreed that if a strike is called against one of them, the others will lock out their workers.
   While some contract details have been worked out, health care and wages have reportedly been the major sticking points in negotiations. Under the previous contract, employees received some bonuses but no raises. Employees last received raises in 2002. In 2002, 94 percent of the workers were covered by company medical benefits. Under the current contract, that number has dropped to 54 percent according to the UFCW.   
   In late 2003 and early 2004, a five-month-long strike put nearly 70,000 grocery workers in southern and central California on the picket lines. The acrimonious strike by the union and lockout of employees by some chains centered on cuts in union member benefits and eventually cost supermarkets $2.5 billion in profits.
   The 8,000 members of the California Teamster's union honored the UFCW picket lines during the 2004 strike.