Shoppers sound off on possible grocery strike
By Sylvie Belmond belmond@theacorn.com

As negotiations between grocers and workers' union remained deadlocked earlier this week, supermarket employees voted to approve a strike.

Both the Unified Food and Commercial Workers International Union and the three major grocers indicated they would like to settle matters without resorting to a strike such as the 4-and-a-half month strike and lockout that occurred in late 2003.

But if the current stalemate between the grocery workers' unions and major food retailers isn't resolved, a work stoppage may not be avoidable, according to the union.

In a joint statement, the three grocers said they have been working together with the union and a federal mediator to negotiate a contract that addresses rising healthcare and benefits costs to provide quality union jobs.

One of the major sticking points between the two parties pertains to the two-tiered health care benefits offered by Ralphs, Vons and Albertsons.

In the past, people wanted to work at grocery stores because they offered good benefits, but now new employees are compelled to wait longer before they qualify for fewer benefits, said Councilmember Roseann Mikos.

"Over time, the two-tiered system means you'll lose the most experienced workers, and new people may not stay if they can find better benefits elsewhere," she said.

"I think the supermarket workers have lost a lot since their last strike," said Moorpark resident Diane Crittenden. Several of her family members worked for union grocery stores for decades until they retired.

"Back in the '80s and '90s, the wages and medical benefits were excellent and a worker could provide for their families," she said.

But the protections that labor unions were created to provide have steadily declined for grocery workers, Crittenden said.

People who were hired after the 2003 strike are not nearly as professional as the workers who left. "They don't acknowledge the customers' presence and keep conversing with co-workers while they check out customers," Crittenden said, adding the atmosphere in many union grocery stores has declined in recent years.

"I hope they manage to reach an accord," said Mikos, concerned that a new strike would be devastating for workers.

During the 2003 strike Mikos said she began to shop at smaller markets because she didn't want to cross the picket lines and she came to enjoy the experience. "People may be pleasantly surprised if they shop at smaller local markets," she said.

David Bagwell, who owns a construction company in Moorpark, has less sympathy for the employees who may potentially strike.

"I support the business owners and management 100 percent," said Bagwell, indicating workers shouldn't complain. "If the employees have problems with their respective jobs, there are plenty of other places to work," he said.