San Diego grocery store workers voted in favor of authorizing a strike, inching them closer to the picket lines if negotiations with Southern California Albertsons, Ralphs and Vons fall through, the local union said late Tuesday.þWhile San Diego's union voted in favor, the rest of Southern California's vote is pending. The final tally of the strike authorization vote will be disclosed on Wednesday, Local 135 United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) said. þThe vote doesn't mean grocery store workers are necessarily hitting the picket lines this week. But the vote could give tens of thousands of workers from Bakersfield to San Diego the green light to strike if negotiations fall through.þTodd Walters, president of the local UFCW chapter, says Albertsons, Vons and Ralphs employees primarily want higher wages and to keep their health care coverage strong.þ“All of our members have access to good, cheap, inexpensive health care, and they deserve that,” Walters said.þþIn a statement earlier this week Albertsons, which owns Vons, said, “We are committed to working collaboratively with the unions to ensure that we reach an agreement that is fair to our employees, good for our customers and allows Albertsons Vons and Pavilions to remain competitive in the Southern California market.þA previous statement from Ralphs said in part: ÿAs we have stated from the very beginning of negotiations, we are committed to providing good stable jobs and competitive pay and benefits for our associates. We also need to keep our stores competitive in this changing retail environment.ÿþFresh memories of the 2003 grocery worker strike, when tens of thousands of grocery store workers marched for better benefits for about five months, are another reason a strike could be a last resort option.þ“None of us want to go through it again, but if we have to we're willing to go through it again. And I know our community will support us in that,” said Esther Lopez a 30-year Ralph's employee. þþ
Source: nbcsandiego.com
