Strike or no strike -

these people are our neighbors.

A loaf of bread. A jug of milk. A bag of flour. These are the necessities we all need on a regular basis. These basics are, for many people, enough of a reason to walk past the pickets in front of the neighborhood Vons, Ralphs or Albertsons. We need this stuff. We have families to feed. We can’t go running all around town just because of a strike. These are the strikers’ problems, not ours. Right?

Wrong. These people are our neighbors. They say hello to us when we buy our groceries. They want to know if we prefer paper or plastic. They even offer to help us find items we can’t locate, or pack our groceries into our SUV’s, if we feel we could use the extra help. When their day is done, they get into their cars and join us in our community, at the high school football games, or in our churches and at home, right next door.

Important to note is the fact that much of this problem with the strike is shared by employers and workers alike. The high cost of health care has forced companies to ask employees to co-shoulder the burden of health care costs. It cannot be a free ride any more, because we, as a democratic society, don’t initiate proper legislation to reign in a system totally out of control. It’s going to take situations like these to bust people out of their little safe worlds and do something to correct these problems we now face.

A decent wage. Reasonable health benefits. Respect in the workplace. These are the necessities we all need on a regular basis. Have you seen the price of a home in Moorpark lately? Do you know that rental availability is at about 1.5 per cent at any given time? You all know how much it costs to live in this community. What striking grocery workers are asking for is not out of line. They are asking for a living wage and a chance to maintain the health and welfare of their families and themselves.

Treat your neighbor as you would yourself. Shop your neighborhood’s small community markets. Consider what you can pick up at alternative stores like WalMart, Target or Costco. Don’t cross that line.