For more than eight weeks the Southern California grocery clerks have been locked out from their jobs and still with no end in sight it looks as if the stores are willing to take on the losses accumulated by the lockout.
“I’m pretty discouraged about where this is going and I don’t have any idea when or how this is going to end,” said Matt Dyer, EC student and Albertson’s employee.
“The companies are trying to bust up the union and are unwilling to negotiate with us. The outcome is looking pretty bleak for us.”
Union representatives and grocery store officials took part in a closed-door meeting on Friday, Nov. 21 at an undisclosed location to try to negotiate a settlement.
This was the first such meeting between both sides since the strike began over a month ago and strikers were anxious of what the outcome would be.
But after two days, talks broke off and the union announced it would be expanding picket lines to all of the Southern California Albertsons, Ralphs and Vons distribution centers.
“I had high hopes that the contract might have been settled during this round of negotiations and can’t understand why the union decided to expand the picket lines just as we resumed bargaining,” said Dave Simonson, president of the Southern California Division of Albertsons, Inc.
“I believe this week’s event is only one in a string of disappointing and misguided actions by the union since the strike began over eight weeks ago.”
Some grocery stores have issued letters to their striking and locked-out employees informing them of the union’s actions at the negotiating table.
Dyer said the letter is a blatant attempt to persuade strikers to come back.
In the letter officials included how much money each employee has lost due to the strike.
During this lengthy lockout, a lot of customers have been adversely affected because of not only the lockout but also the MTA strike coupled along with the wildfires and rain.
These disasters have forced union employees to rethink their strategy and pull picketers off all Ralphs’ grocery stores.
Ralphs’ response has been to share all profits with the other two stores who are involved in the lockout.
The profit sharing by the grocery stores has forced California Attorney General Bill Lockyer to launch an investigation into whether the three largest supermarket chains violated state or federal antitrust laws by agreeing to a financial pact to share profits.
“At first, people were real supportive of our cause but as time winds on and the inconvenience grows for the customers, people are having a lot less patience for what were going through,” Dyer said.
“People come by and tell me that they have to pay for their medical benefits and that I should be thankful that I make as much money as I do for working in a grocery store. They also tell me that if I don’t like my job I should get a new one.”
