CALIFORNIA : BRIEFLY : PREVIEW : Supermarket Protest

Union supporters will kick off the Labor Day weekend Friday with a protest at the new Gigante supermarket in Pico Rivera, the first in a network of markets the Mexico City-based chain plans to open in Latino neighborhoods in Southern California. Rep. Grace F. Napolitano (D-Norwalk) and Pico Rivera City Councilman Gregory Salcido will join former and current Gigante workers and United Food & Commercial Workers union organizers at the rally, scheduled for noon in the Gigante parking lot. The union has been faced with a growing number of nonunion markets targeting ethnic neighborhoods.

Organizers claim Gigante is discriminating by paying its Latino workers less than other supermarket employees in the area. Before opening at Pico Rivera in early May, Gigante management declared itself nonunion and rejected overtures from the UFCW, which once represented nearly 90% of supermarket employees in the region but is now down to 74%. Union supermarket checkers earn at least $14 an hour plus nearly $5 an hour in health and pension benefits, while workers at Gigante earn $6.25 to $6.50 an hour with no paid health benefits.