Labor union ratifies a new deal with trio of major supermarket chains
By Daily Press Staff
CITYWIDE Southern California grocery workers ratified a new labor deal with three of the region’s largest supermarket corporations on Sunday, approving a contract that increases wages and improves access to health care.
More than 87 percent of union members that cast their votes did so in favor of the tentative labor agreement reached between the United Food and Commercial Workers and Ralphs, Albertsons and Vons on July 17.
The contract covers more than 70,000 workers from seven local UFCW unions from Bakersfield to the Mexican border.
The ratification puts an end to more than six months of contentious labor negotiations between the union and grocery stores over the terms of a new contract, which went into effect immediately and is retroactive to March 6 of this year, one day after the previous contract expired.
“The grocery workers are feeling this is a huge victory and they also have a huge sigh of relief today,” said Sandra Lloyd-Jones, a union spokeswoman.“They had six months of negotiations where their lives have really been on hold.
“There was a lot of concern and worry and now they’ll be able to get back to work and get on with their lives.”
Perhaps the most celebrated item in the new contract is a wage increase — the first since 2002 — and the demise of a two-tier wage structure separating new employees from the old. Implemented in 2004, the two-tier structure was a major source of debate during the negotiations in 2003-04. Under the new contract, all employees are now classified on the same wage progression schedule and are eligible to receive the top pay in their class.
Wages will increase gradually over the life of the contract — set to expire on March 6, 2011. Another boon for the workers, the waiting period for new employees and their children to be eligible for health care has been shortened from 18 months to six months. Current employees who have been on the job for at least six months are now eligible for coverage.
The ratification puts to rest any fears of another strike, which the union authorized in June if negotiations stalled again. The previous strike lasted for more than four months — taking an economic toll on both employers and employees, and a hassle for consumers that supported the strike but had to go elsewhere to get their shopping done.
“Three years ago, (workers) suffered through a debilitating strike and, today, they are going back to work and getting many of the things they lost in the last contract,” Lloyd- Jones said.
Adena Tessler, the representative for Ralphs, Vons and Albertsons could not be reached for comment on Monday.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 24, 2007. Read the original PDF.