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# Workers return to local grocery stores
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/workers-return-to-local-grocery-stores/
- Published: 2004-03-03T16:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T03:53:30.000Z
- Author: John Wood
- Tags: Business, Ocean Park, #archive-import

*Union representatives to meet with local grocers*

OCEAN PARK — After four and a half months on strike, Randy Babb, a grocery clerk at the Albertsons on Lincoln Boulevard, finally returned to work Tuesday.

“It felt like we were rotting away out here,” said Babb, 40, standing in front of the store during a break. “It’s better working in there than holding a sign out here.”

Workers at Albertsons were the first to return to their posts after a new contract was approved by union members over the weekend, ending a regional strike that affected more than 70,000 grocery store employees. Ralphs workers are expected to be back on the job today and Vons employees back at work this weekend.

“We’re getting everything cleaned up and ready, and then we’ll get normal loads by the end of the week,” said Roxanne Tambern, 31, a floral clerk. Tambern added she had mixed feelings about the contract worked out between the United Food & Commercial Workers Union and supermarket executives, but said it was a matter of time before workers were asked to give up some benefits.

Union officials said shoppers can expect “explosive” deals in coming weeks as the grocery giants try to lure back customers lost during the protracted dispute.

“The merchandise and the pricing that they’re going to have on their ads starting next week are going to be gigantic,” said Richard Cowan, secretary and treasurer for the UFCW, whose office is in Santa Monica.

That’s good news for shoppers like Steve Tipps. Tipps said he avoided the Ocean Park Albertsons, which is just around the corner from his home, during the strike — instead shopping at Food 4 Less, Trader Joe’s, Co-opportunity and Smart & Final.

“I supported (the strikers) because I think that medical benefits are important for every employee,” said Tipps, 52, a Santa Monica resident and teamster who drives trucks for the movie industry.

But the end of the strike may not be good news for everyone. Temporary workers at all stores were on short notice Tuesday that they soon would lose their jobs. At Vons on Lincoln Boulevard, temporary worker Dale Logan, 20, said he doesn’t know what he’ll do next — adding he hasn’t been told by managers how much longer he’ll have a job.

Logan’s supervisor, Gerren Evanson, 23, said he quit the union so he could cross the picket line because he couldn’t afford not to work. Union workers earned $240 a week to picket at the beginning of the strike. That amount later dwindled to $125, workers said.

Evanson said he made $17.90 as a cashier before the strike and $17.90 as a supervising cashier during the strike. But now that the strike is over, Evanson said his standing with the UFCW is uncertain.

“I’m not exactly sure how this is working out,” he said during a work break. “I’m being given two options — layoff or demotion, and neither is acceptable... Either way it goes, we’re (out of luck).”

> “I’m not exactly sure how this is working out.” — – GERREN EVANSON Union worker who broke the picket line

While Evanson and temporary workers figure out what step to make next, Cowan said his office is dealing with a minimum of two month’s worth of paperwork as a result of the strike — everything from processing picket line complaints to creating educational pamphlets. The coming weeks may get busier, as Cowan said he hopes to meet with officials from Gelson’s, Vicente Foods and Bob’s Market — all unionized stores with contracts set to expire soon, he said.

Cowan added workers who broke the picket line to return to work likely will be hired back at their old wages. Union dues range from $24 to $37 a month, he added.

Meanwhile, Babb, a 20-year veteran of Albertsons, said he’s generally pleased with the way the strike panned out. He said he spent as many as 16 hours a day on the picket line — doubling up his shifts so he could spend free time with friends and family, especially around the holidays. Asked about the cut in health benefits, Babb said it wasn’t ideal — but it was predictable.

“We got away with it for a long time,” he said.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on March 3, 2004.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/030304.pdf?ref=smdp.com)