Area grocers, unions reach agreement

By NANCY LUNA / STAFF WRITER

Aug. 4, 2016 

Some 50,000 Southern California grocery workers will walk into union offices on Monday to cast their vote on a tentative agreement that, if approved, would avoid another devastating strike.

After intense round-the-clock negotiations this week, union workers and the three major supermarket chains – Ralphs, Vons and Albertsons – have agreed on terms for a new contract, which includes wage increases and affordable health care for supermarket workers, Ralphs spokeswoman Kendra Doyel said in a statement.

“We are able to give our associates pay increases, keep their health care very affordable, and a stable pension,” Doyel said. She said she could not reveal any more specifics.

A 2003-04 grocery strike and lockout altered the region’s supermarket climate. The strike lasted four months and cost the grocery chains an estimated $1.5 billion.

Greg Conger, president of Local 324, also declined to reveal the details of the new contract. Conger’s union represents roughly 10,000 grocery workers in Orange County.

He said reaching a tentative agreement is significant as no one at the negotiating table “asked for a strike,” he said.

San Bernardino-based Stater Bros. Markets, which operates dozens of Inland stores, is not part of these negotiations. In the 2003 dispute, the chain said it would accept the labor agreement hammered out by the other grocers.

Negotiations with the three major grocery chains have been ongoing since the union contract expired March 6. Up until this week, the union and supermarket chains had not come to any agreement. That led union workers to vote in late June to authorize a strike, if necessary.

At issue are wages and health care benefits.

In June, the supermarkets were offering union workers a 10-cent per hour wage increase through 2018 and bonuses of 10-15 cents an hour and 15 cents an hour during that time. The stores said they would not fund health care beyond current levels, meaning that employees would have to contribute more or sacrifice coverage.

The supermarkets had also said they would not fund pensions at levels the unions are seeking and want to change the retirement age to 65 from 60.

On Monday, grocery workers will find out the terms of the new contract.

Conger said polls will be open all day Monday, starting at 8 a.m. Final results will likely be announced Tuesday. Though, he said by late Monday “we’ll have a good feeling as the day goes on” how the vote is going.