Supermarket Workers May Go on Strike
Thousands of supermarket workers in Northern California could go on strike as early as today if the results of a union vote on a new contract proposal is turned down.
At issue is wages. Although many Northern California supermarket clerks are among the best paid in the nation, the workers also live in one of the nation’s most expensive housing markets.
Boise, Idaho-based Albertson’s Inc. and Pleasanton-based Safeway Inc. run Northern California’s two largest grocery chains. The companies say they can’t afford to pay store workers much more because they have to remain competitive with other retailers such as Costco, Wal-Mart and Target that are expected to expand into the grocery business.
Labor unions representing 27,000 employees working in 294 Safeway and Albertsons stores are expected to announce today the results of a vote on the “last, best” contract proposal from the grocers.
The chains say they pay their San Francisco Bay Area store workers an average of $15.50 an hour. That is 52% more than the average wage of $10.18 an hour paid to retail clerks in the region, according to 1999 estimates by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The companies are offering most workers a $1.50-an-hour increase over three years. That translates into a 10% raise, based on the average wage of $15.50 an hour. The lowest-paid workers now start at $7.75 an hour, while the top-paid workers receive $17.58 an hour.
Seeking a raise of $2.40 an hour over three years, labor leaders recommend that workers reject the proposal. Management, meanwhile, is conducting interviews with potential replacement workers to ensure the stores will remain open if there is a strike.
In complaints filed with the National Labor Relations Board and federal court, labor leaders and supermarket management have accused each other of unfair tactics during the voting process.
A strike would be the first by Northern California grocery store workers since a nine-day walkout in 1995. A year ago, a 47-day strike at a Safeway’s Northern California grocery distribution center cost the company about $66 million in profit.
