Store Steaked Out : 75 Meat-Cutter Pickets Descend on an Independent Market

The owners of an independent market in Santa Ana had thought they were small potatoes--too small to be affected by the meat-cutters strike.

But on Wednesday, about 75 demonstrators showed up at Walker’s Market to picket and hand out leaflets, a scene owner Sim Feirstein described as “bringing all the guns to kill a fly.”

Jim Richardson, a spokesman for Butchers Union Local 551, said the demonstration at Walker’s Market, 1722 N. Tustin Ave., was staged to “show solidarity” among striking butchers.

But Feirstein and co-owner Bryan Stafford said that only three butchers in the Santa Ana store and seven others in two stores the partners own in Los Angeles are union members. Stafford and Feirstein said they do not understand what the pickets will accomplish by demonstrating against a small and unknown store.

Richardson said Walker’s Market, which has been at the same location for more than 30 years, is the only independent store that has refused to sign a “sweetheart agreement” with the union on the strike grievances. But Dan Melnick, the store’s attorney, said the owners have offered to negotiate their own contract with the union and do not have to abide by union agreements signed with other independent stores.

But Richardson said “an industry agreement prohibits that. It doesn’t matter how small a store is or if it belongs to the (Food Employers) Council,” a store cannot negotiate on its own with the striking unions.

“It’s not a matter of size. This is the only store that has not signed this type of agreement,” he said.

But owner Stafford countered: “We have the right to negotiate our own fate. And when somebody tells us we can’t do that . . . then that’s not right.”

The two owners said they were especially peeved that the 75 demonstrators were distributing leaflets containing a list of independent stores that the unions want shoppers to patronize. Walker’s Market, however, was listed along with the seven chain stores being picketed by the Teamsters.

“We have three (unionized) employees and (the chains) have 10,000 people, and they have singled us out,” Stafford said. “I think it’s utterly unnecessary . . . . “

The pickets, however, seemed to be winning over few customers.

And Darrin Stafford, the co-owner’s son, said that was not surprising.

“We’re big on service, and our customers know our employees,” he said. “Our customers have remained loyal to us. But it’s not good for business when they have to go through this inconvenience.”