Butchers Say They’re Ready for Long Strike to Protect Jobs

An official of the meat cutters’ union on strike with the Teamsters against seven Southern California supermarket chains said Sunday that the butchers are prepared for a lengthy walkout and will not give in to management demands they say would jeopardize their job security.

“We are prepared to stay out six weeks, but we can go longer than that. It would be a disastrous situation if we go in now with what we have,” said D. (Whitey) Ulrich, president of Local 551 of United Food & Commercial Workers International.

Of many issues on which both management and labor say they are still far apart, two are of particular importance:

- Management wants to subcontract more work to reduce labor costs, while the Teamsters claim that this would allow management to inevitably reduce jobs for their members.

- Management wants to introduce a new, lower-paid classification of worker called a “meat clerk,” who would perform about 70% of the tasks now done by meat cutters.

Management also wants to reduce the number of hours a store is required to have a journeyman meat cutter on duty. The meat cutters have said that this would reduce their 40-hour guaranteed workweek to 20 hours.

Scheduled negotiations between the Food Employers Council and the butchers and the Teamsters were broken off Saturday before they even began. Officials for both management and the striking unions said Sunday they did not know when bargaining would resume.

Ulrich accused the council representing the stores of circulating a rumor that management has reached a tentative agreement with the butchers. He said no agreement has been reached with management.

“If they want to publicize an agreement, then I authorize them to publicize it . . . to give it to the press,” Ulrich said. “This infamous deal does not exist. No deal has been reached with the butchers.”

Ulrich made his comments while supervising a picket line at the Safeway market at 7600 Edinger Ave. in Huntington Beach in which about 100 butchers and Teamsters, some with children in tow, demonstrated. It was the second day the two groups have picketed that particular Safeway.

Ulrich said the picketing would continue at the store indefinitely.

“We’ll concentrate on this store, but eventually we’ll picket other stores,” he said.

The strikers said two Safeway clerks had decided not to cross their picket line. But the store’s manager, who identified himself only as Richard, denied that any clerks had joined the picketing. However, he said that one clerk had called in sick.

The pickets stopped cars and handed drivers leaflets outlining what were described as nine major issues in the five-day strike, including staffing, medical care and cost of living raises.

Jack Butler, a Garden Grove butcher, said the more clerks who join the picket line, the sooner the strike could be settled. The clerks are scheduled for their own negotiations with management in 18 months.

“What happens here today with us is important,” Butler said. “If we lose, then they’ll lose later on along the road.”

Police Called to Store

Three police units arrived at the store to monitor the demonstration. One officer said the store manager had called police because of a vandalism incident that occurred when the store was picketed Saturday. The manager said the incident, in which someone poured syrup on some meat, had been “minor.”

Officer D. Dreyer said the manager, however, had not accused any of the pickets of the vandalism, but wanted the picket line watched by police to prevent any disturbance.

Sunday’s demonstration at the store was peaceful.