LOS ANGELES, Oct. 13 — Store shelves appeared fully stocked but the aisles were largely empty of shoppers as a supermarket strike at the three biggest grocery chains in Southern and Central California entered its third day on Monday evening.þþPicket lines were set up outside hundreds of supermarkets starting Saturday night as members of the United Food and Commercial Workers union walked off the job here for the first time in 25 years. The strike was called against the Vons and Pavilions chains, which are operated by Safeway Inc. The owners of their chief competitors, Albertson's and Ralphs, locked out U.F.C.W. workers as part of a joint negotiating strategy.þþThe action affects 859 stores and 70,000 workers.þþOscar Herrera, 30, a striking inventory control clerk at a Vons market in the Echo Park section of Los Angeles, said that picketing had turned away about half of the market's customers. ÿThe other half are getting a couple things,ÿ Mr. Herrera said. ÿThat's all we ask. All we ask is you keep shopping to a minimum and try not to come back until this is resolved.ÿþþThere did not appear to be any panic buying, in part because the Los Angeles area has numerous other grocery outlets, including Costco, Gelson's and Stater Brothers.þþWhile the disruptions from the grocery strike appeared minimal, Los Angeles commuters could be in for considerable misery starting Tuesday morning. Mechanics for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority said Monday afternoon that they would go on strike at midnight after talks failed to resolve differences over the transit authority's contribution to the union health fund.þþA work stoppage by the 2,500 mechanics of the Amalgamated Transit Union would bring the city's bus service to a halt, affecting an estimated 400,000 riders.þþOfficials from the food workers union and the supermarket chains said that the two sides were miles apart and that no bargaining sessions had been scheduled since talks broke down on Saturday afternoon. Both sides predicted the impasse would last weeks.þþAlthough the labor dispute is local, the strike has nationwide implications because it centers on the companies' desire to reduce health care costs by eliminating some benefits and requiring workers to pick up a greater share of the cost. Company officials said that health care costs for their California employees had increased more than 50 percent over the last four years and that growing competition and shrinking profit margins were forcing them to seek limits on benefits.þþGary Rhodes, a spokesman at Kroger Inc., which operates 470 Ralphs supermarkets in California and Nevada, said the chains were asking union members to contribute only $15 a week toward the cost of health care coverage for a family.þþÿLike every other company, our health care costs are soaring,ÿ Mr. Rhodes said. He said that competition in the retail grocery business was already fierce and that Wal-Mart Stores, which is not unionized, has announced plans to build up to 40 superstores in Southern California.þþÿWe think it's reasonable to ask our employees to share in a small portion of those costs going forward,ÿ Mr. Rhodes said. ÿEven after a worker pays $5 a week for an individual or $15 for family coverage, we're still paying by far the lion's share of health care costs for our employees.ÿþþKroger was facing another strike late Monday at 44 stores in West Virginia, Kentucky and southern Ohio, Mr. Rhodes said. Kroger and union officials said that while the actions were not related, the issue was the same as in California: the companies' efforts to contain spiraling health care costs.þþÿThis battle is growing nationwide,ÿ said Greg Denier, director of communications for the food workers' union. ÿWhat's happening is that contracts are up across the country in different areas. The employers are dedicated to eliminating affordable health care for employees, so the national health care crisis is being played out on the picket line.ÿþþIn California, union representatives acknowledge rising health care costs and say they are no more eager to see Wal-Mart enter the grocery business than are the supermarket chain operators. But they said the companies grossly understated what they were asking workers to give up.þþÿThey're talking about cutting our benefits in half,ÿ said Rick Icaza, president of U.F.C.W. Local 770, which has 15,000 grocery workers on strike in Los Angeles County. ÿThis could mean the loss of vision coverage, dental, even pension benefits. That's how draconian this is.ÿ þþMr. Icaza said that in addition to the weekly assessment for medical coverage, the companies wanted to impose co-payments and deductibles, which workers do not pay now.þþHe said the companies also wanted to create a two-tier wage system, in which current employees would keep their salaries but new workers would come in at $2 to $3 less per hour. ÿThat's just an incentive for them to get rid of the old-timers,ÿ he said.þþFor now, the companies appear willing to accept the strike as a step toward lowering labor costs and becoming more competitive with Wal-Mart and other ÿbig boxÿ stores. þþThe companies began planning for a strike months ago and training replacement workers this summer. They cut back operating hours on Sunday but have since expanded them.þþÿWe now have enough temporary work staff to keep the stores open later,ÿ said Sandra Calderon, a spokeswoman for Vons.þþEric Garcetti, a member of the Los Angeles City Council, expressed sympathy for supermarket owners trying to keep costs down to compete against giants like Wal-Mart. He has introduced an ordinance intended to slow the Wal-Mart expansion and protect neighborhood markets.þþBut Mr. Garcetti also said workers were being asked to sacrifice too much to protect their employers' profits.þþÿThis is bigger than California and bigger than the grocery business,ÿ said Mr. Garcetti, the grandson of two U.F.C.W. members. ÿThroughout America, we're seeing a race to the bottom on benefits. The idea of Wal-Mart coming has employers so scared they want to negotiate away employee benefits. At what point do workers say enough is enough?ÿþþþþ
Source: NY Times
