Supermarket Workers Vote to Authorize Strike

The United Food and Commercial Workers Union 770 said in a statement that the supermarket corporations engaged in illegal and covert tactics to prevent workers from exercising their rights guaranteed to them by labor and federal laws.

Supermarket workers in Southern California voted to authorize a strike after unsuccessful negotiations with the corporations that own Ralphs and Vons/Pavilions/Albertsons. The contract that covers more than 60,000 supermarket store employees expired Sunday, March 6.

Corporations representing the supermarkets offered a pitiful raise of a few cents while the union presented proposals that would increase wages, as well as improve working conditions in the stores.

According to the union, grocery sales increased exponentially, bringing in record profits for grocery companies, citing Ralphs’ parent company Kroger’s reported profits of up to $4 billion in 2021.

In a statement, the United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 770 said that corporations engage in illegal and covert tactics to prevent workers from exercising their rights and protections guaranteed to them by labor and federal laws.

Unionized contract workers work at Ralphs, Albertsons, Vons, Pavilions, Stater Bros. and Gelson’s supermarkets.

“When the pandemic hit, we showed up to work to make sure our community had food. We put our health and the health of our family at risk – and now corporate executives who hid in their offices and profited from our sacrifice refuse to share in the success and improve safety in our stores,” said Rachel Fournier, an employee for 17 years at Ralphs, in a statement.

Employees filed Unfair Labor Practices charges with the federal government’s National Labor Relations Board against Ralphs and Vons/Albertsons/Pavilions for violating labor laws by over-policing, intimidating and interfering with participating workers in union activities, for failing to bargain over bonuses offered to employees and improperly subcontracting work to outside contractors, among other labor law violations.

Charges were also filed with the NLRB against Stater Bros. after company managers violated federal labor law by attempting to bargain with individual workers and delaying negotiations.

ULP strike voting begins Monday, March 21st. For time and locations click link: http://ufcw770.org/vote