SoCal grocery strike vote growing likely

SoCal grocery strike vote growing likely Union officials and representatives from three major Southern California supermarket chains are growing increasing doubtful of a negotiated settlement before a union-imposed Thursday deadline.
   Last week the seven unions representing 65,000 Southern California grocery workers announced that if the deadline passed with no new offers it would advise its members to accept whatever offer was already on the table or vote to authorize a strike.
   Union officials and officials from the three chains, Safeway Inc.'s Vons and Pavilions units, Kroger Co.’s Ralphs chain, and Supervalu Inc.’s Albertsons, have been meeting since the current contract expired in March. It has been renewing automatically on a day-to-day basis during negotiations.
   “I hope — we all hope — there’s a deal we can recommend to our members,” Mike Shimpock, a spokesperson for unions told Reuters. “Unfortunately, that looks like that’s not going to happen.”
   Officials from the supermarket chains also told Reuters that they believe an agreement is not likely by Thursday.
   Health care and wages have reportedly been the major sticking points in negotiations.
   If no agreement is reached, union members at Ralphs and Vons stores will vote on Sunday. A two-thirds majority is needed to authorize a strike. Union members at Albertsons stores authorized a strike earlier this year.
   While results are expected to be available by Monday if a vote is taken, the unions are required to give the chains 72-hour notice before calling an actual strike.
   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.