Grocery Workers Move Toward Strike in Southern California

Grocery workers across Southern California have begun voting to move toward authorizing a strike against employers in an effort to raise daily wages, The Los Angeles Times reported. þþMore than 47,000 workers at 500 Ralphs, Albertsons, Vons, and Pavilions supermarkets are eligible to vote for the resolution over a five-day period with the results of the measure expected to be announced on Sunday. þþA three-year contract between Kroger, the parent company of Ralphs, Albertsons, Vons, and Pavilions supermarkets, and the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) expired earlier this month, according to the Times.þþThe latest vote by the union is aimed to conduct an unfair labor practice strike, giving UFCW the ability to conduct walkouts at select stores under the labor law.þþNegotiations between the two sides have stalled recently, with UFCW Local 770 union president John Grant saying that talks between the two sides have been intense since January, but proceed “at a regular rhythm” since. þþ“Then two weeks ago it came to a screeching halt. I believe the companies wanted to see if workers are going to stand up and ask for the contract they deserve,” Grant told the Times, adding that grocery workers have suffered throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. þþ“I have never seen such militancy,” Grant said. “It’s like we’ve walked through hell and can’t stop now.”þþThis comes as a strike authorization vote does not necessarily invoke a workers' strike but gives union leaders the right to call for one, The Times reported.þþUFCW recently filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board earlier this month accusing companies of illegal intimidation, including videotaping of workers at rallies and when they presented petitions to managers.þþIn an emailed statement, Kroger spokesperson Kelli McGannon said negotiation between the two sides is expected to resume during the week of March 28, the Times noted. þþ“[The unfair labor practice charges] are nothing more than trumped-up charges intended to create confusion. Ralphs has and will continue to follow the law,” McGannon said in her statement.