Los Angeles — On Good Friday, April 18, United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) members from El Super joined the LA Catholic community, members of Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice (CLUE), and Immaculate Heart Community in a powerful “Stations of the Worker’s Cross” –commemorating the Passion of Christ, and exploring how it resonates with workers’ struggles for fair pay and safe staffing in Southern California today. The procession took place in front of an El Super store in South Los Angeles.
The Stations of the Cross came just two days after the contract covering approximately 600 El Super workers in Southern California expired (April 16) and a few days before critical negotiations begin with Chedraui USA (April 28-29). The procession took place ahead of a busy Easter weekend for El Super workers, in a time where grocery store corporations have raked in record profits, while their workers struggle to afford housing and to put food on the table.
This symbolic action in the Christian tradition enacted key moments in Jesus’ journey to the cross. Participants related Jesus’ last moments to the struggles faced by essential grocery workers today. The Stations displayed the challenges El Super workers face amid a larger movement by grocery store workers for adequate staffing levels, wages that account for the rising cost of living, access to healthcare, pension plans that allow workers to retire with dignity, and the promotion of a higher standard for all El Super workers otherwise treated as expendable and replaceable.
CLUE Executive Director, Jennifer Gutierrez said, “Just as Jesus was seen as a threat to the powerful in his time, the workers at El Super have more power than they know. They are essential workers that deserve our respect, in addition to a fair wage and benefits.”
“El Super is failing workers and customers by prioritizing profits over people,” said Araceli Pinedo, a cashier at El Super on Vermont and Slauson in Los Angeles who spoke at one of the Stations of the Workers’ Cross. “When an elderly woman faints in line from waiting too long, or when cashiers are forced to close the store alone at 11 p.m., it’s clear: this company’s greed is endangering our safety and dignity. We demand enough staff to protect workers and customers, fair hours, and respect—because we are the ones who make this business successful.”
“We’re forced to work with broken equipment that causes injuries, stand on worn-out mats until our legs swell, and face daily safety risks—all while the company ignores these hazards,” said Xiomara Romero, who works at the same El Super store in Los Angeles. Enough is enough. We demand safe equipment, fair staffing, and respect. El Super’s success depends on us; it’s time they act like it.”
“After 16 years at El Super, I’ve seen how understaffing hurts both workers and customers,” said Daniel Marín, a meat clerk in Los Angeles. “We’re ready to negotiate in good faith – and we expect the same from El Super. No more delays. We need fair wages, stable schedules, safe staffing levels, and respect now. When workers win, the company and our customers win too.”
As hundreds of El Super workers kick off “The Super Fight at El Super/ La Super Lucha en El Super” contract campaign for just and transformative contracts for themselves, their families and their communities, the vibrant interfaith movement for worker justice joined them in solidarity and resilience.
About CLUE: Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice (CLUE) educates, organizes, and mobilizes religious leaders and community members to walk with low-wage workers, immigrants, and communities of color while advocating for dignity, fair work, and healthy communities.
About El Super workers: Approximately 600 Union workers –predominantly Latino employees working at El Super –owned by Chedraui USA, are represented by UFCW Locals 324, 770, 1167, and 1428 in Southern California.
El Super workers are part of Grocery Workers Rising –a larger movement of over 65,000 UFCW members across Southern California fighting for living wages, full time hours, safe staffing, and secure benefits. While grocery corporations profit, grocery store workers struggle to afford the basics in high-cost California.