So. Calif. Grocery Talks Resume After Strike Vote
The Associated Press
Aug. 22, 2011

http://www.macon.com/2011/08/22/1674013/so-calif-grocery-talks-resume.html

Union officials representing grocery workers will
return to the bargaining table this month armed with a
vote by their rank and file that resoundingly rejected
health care proposals by several major supermarket
chains.

Rick Icaza, president of the United Food and Commercial
Workers Local 770, said Monday that the weekend's vote
by more than 90 percent of those who cast ballots to
rebuff Vons', Ralphs' and Albertsons' health proposal
show the chains how serious workers are about pushing
for a better deal.

"I think the employers were testing us as to whether or
not they would give us a strike authorization," Icaza
said at a rally outside a Ralphs' market where dozens
of workers, union staffers and supporters held signs
calling on the markets to improve their offer.

The weekend vote automatically authorized union
officials to call a strike 72 hours after the markets
are given notice. Some 62,000 grocery workers in
Southern California were eligible to vote, although the
union did not disclose how many had cast ballots.

Bargaining, which has snagged over the chains' efforts
to boost employees' health insurance contributions,
were set to resume on Aug. 29, Icaza said.

Union officials say the health care proposal would
significantly increase out-of-pocket costs for workers
who already make relatively low wages and would lead to
the depletion of the fund that supports the employees'
health care benefits.

"We believe they're not negotiating in good faith and,
unfortunately, that's going to cause a strike," he
said.

A four-month strike and lockout that began in 2003 cost
Ralphs and other grocery chains an estimated $2
billion.

Vons stressed the fact that negotiations were ongoing.

"The employers intend to stay focused and engaged in
the bargaining process," a Vons release said. "We
remain hopeful that we can peacefully reach a
settlement that works for both sides. We would urge the
union leadership to do the same."

To prepare for a possible strike, Albertsons has
started to advertise for temporary replacement workers,
chain spokesman Fred Muirhas said.

"Asking for strike authorization is a common tactic in
negotiations and does not necessarily mean a strike
will be called. Getting sidetracked by these tactics -
especially when it is clear there is no complete
contract offer on the table and because productive
negotiations continue - will only delay our ability to
reach a fair agreement for our associates," Muir has
said. "The real work toward getting a fair contract
will happen at the negotiating table and we hope that's
where the union leadership will focus its attention
when we return to bargaining."

Ralphs Grocery Co. spokeswoman Kendra Doyel has said
her chain is committed to staying at the table to
negotiate, and the grocers' proposal was affordable and
good for employees and their families.

Union members have been working without a contract
since March.

Both sides announced last month that they had reached a
tentative agreement on the employers' contributions to
pension benefits, but payments to the union health care
trust fund have been a major sticking point.

Ralphs currently pays more than 90 percent of employee
health coverage costs, Doyel said. Workers hired before
2004 pay nothing for health insurance while those hired
later pay either $7 a week for single coverage or $15 a
week for family coverage.

The companies' proposal would raise that to $9 a week
for singles and $23 a week for families. That is much
lower than the average cost of health care insurance in
California, she said.

But union local spokesman Mike Shimpock said that the
union is concerned about the long-term sustainability
of the health care fund.

"With the amount they're offering now, the fund would
go bankrupt by next September," he said. "We're worried
about increased costs, of course. But it doesn't matter
if premiums are $2 or $200 if the benefits are
eventually eliminated."

Tom Hancock, a checkout cashier at one of Vons'
Pavilions stores who took part in Monday's rally, said
his concerns about the future of his health coverage
were exacerbated when his company sent out a letter
instructing employees on how to sign up for the state's
Medicaid program.

He said he didn't want to vote in favor of a strike
against the markets because the 2003 walkout was tough
for him. But, he said, "they left us no choice."

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