Southern California grocery workers and representatives of four retail chains will meet this weekend in attempt to bring a long-running strike to an end, The North County Times reported Nov. 21.
Federal mediation chief Peter Hurtgen will meet with officials of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union and representatives of the more than 800 Southern California stores operated by Vons, Ralph's, Pavilions and Albertsons. Those stores, which make up roughly 60 percent of all groceries in the southern half of the state, are still the target of a strike by 70,000 workers that has been in progress since Oct. 21.
The strike, like other grocery worker strikes that have recently hit different parts of the United States, center on health benefits.
One of the strikes, in the St. Louis area, ended recently after intervention by a federal mediator. In that action, more than 10,000 strikers targeted roughly 90 stores operated under the Schnuck's, Dierberg's and Shop & Save banners, local media outlets reported. During the St. Louis strike, workers started action against one chain, after which the two others locked out union workers.
Another grocery worker strike, in West Virginia, Ohio and Kentucky, also continues. Negotiations between Kroger and United Food and Commercial Workers Local 400 are also moving ahead in that strike, which also centers on health benefits.
However, in two states, negotiators have been able to avert strike actions.
More than 4,000 workers at Kroger stores in Indiana are in negotiations with their employer aimed at averting a strike in that state, The Associated Press reported Nov. 19. Health care is a factor in those negotiations as well. The news service said a federal mediator had secured an indefinite extension of the deadline to reach an agreement, allowing negotiations to continue.
In addition, a strike was also averted recently in Arizona. The Arizona Republic reported Oct. 27 that members of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 99 in Arizona indefinitely extended their contract with Safeway and Fry's Food Stores, avoiding a strike by 14,000 workers in that state.
