Workers Greet Deal With Relief Despite Uncertainty

For the people who have been without jobs for nearly five months, it was too soon Thursday night to pass judgment on the merits of their union’s tentative agreement with the supermarkets where they used to work.

They were relieved, anyway. “We’re happy,” said George Lopez, a 19-year-old grocery bagger walking a picket line outside a Pavilions store on Melrose Avenue. “We’ve been here in the cold and the rain.”

Like much of the information gleaned by union members during the strike and lockout that began Oct. 11, the fact that a proposed contract had been roughed out after 16 days of negotiations spread by word of mouth.

Many pickets said they got the news when reporters showed up with questions about the deal.

Some in a group of strikers huddled in the parking lot at the Pavilions said they were hesitant to get too excited before hearing from leaders of the United Food and Commercial Workers union.

“Rumors have been going crazy since Monday,” said Rafael Antonio, 35, who said he charged about $8,000 in living expenses on his credit card during the strike.

At the Vons on Lincoln Boulevard in Santa Monica -- site of a campaign stop earlier in the day by Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts -- Jennifer Palacios said that until she had a chance to actually read the proposed contract, “I can’t get too excited.”

Then the 35-year-old onetime deli manager added: “I’m positive. I’m hopeful. I’m looking forward to going back to work.”

A statement issued late Thursday by seven UFCW locals in the strike and lockout said the agreement “preserves affordable healthcare, maintains pensions and achieves job security.”

The statement said union officials wouldn’t disclose any details until union members had voted on the proposed contract this weekend.

The supermarket companies -- Albertsons Inc., Kroger Co., parent of Ralphs, and Safeway Inc., which owns Pavilions and Vons -- had no immediate comment but representatives for the three chains said they were preparing a statement.

As for many of the shoppers who have been honoring picket lines at Albertsons, Ralphs, Pavilions and Vons stores, they were in high spirits, too.

Ian Gomez, visiting a Ralphs store in central Los Angeles, predicted there would be an immediate benefit: more on the store shelves.

“It’s like the old Soviet Union in there,” he said. “I’d have to go all over town just for detergent.”

Arnella Sims used to be frequent Ralphs, where she was friendly with several of the workers. To show solidarity, she has been spending her grocery money at Food for Less and Trader Joe’s.

“I miss the old employees,” said Sims, a court reporter. “There was not the same atmosphere of community. I sure hope the workers are satisfied with the settlement.”

If the UFCW members ratify the contract this weekend, it will mean unemployment for the thousands of replacement workers who took their jobs during the strike.

George Wagner, who has been working at a Ralphs deli, said that wouldn’t be the end of the world.

“This is just something for me to do. I don’t care if I’m out of job,” he said, adding that he has a side business running a website to generate income.

One challenge for the supermarket companies in a post-strike environment will be enticing old regulars back to their once-favorite stores. A handful of shoppers outside a Trader Joe’s on La Brea Boulevard said they would return to their regular supermarkets if the union employees returned.

Some, though, said they were satisfied with their new grocery shopping option.

My Linh Truong, 26, an L.A. graphic artist, has been shopping at Trader Joe’s since the strike began and said she would continue to do so, permanently eschewing her nearby Ralphs. “There’s nothing Ralphs could do,” she said, to win her back.

For the workers who sat out one of the longest grocery strikes in California history, just getting back to work would be enough.

“I feel great,” said B.C. Cooley of Venice, who works in the deli at the Santa Monica Vons. “We’ve been out here too long.”

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The Strike: A Timeline

Oct. 10: Members of seven locals of the United Food and Commercial Workers union vote to reject the supermarkets’ last contract offer and authorize a strike.

Oct. 11: The union strikes Vons and Pavilions, owned by Safeway Inc.

Oct. 12: Albertsons Inc. and Kroger Co.’s Ralphs markets, bargaining jointly with Safeway, lock out their UFCW workers. In all, 59,000 people are idled at 852 grocery stores in Central and Southern California.

Dec. 5: Albertsons releases financial results indicating that the three chains together had lost well over $500 million in sales since the dispute began.

Dec. 19: The union makes a contract offer to the stores, but the supermarkets reject it and talks break off.

Jan. 11: Both sides disclose that they held secret, informal negotiations to break the impasse but they ended with no resolution.

Jan. 30: State Atty. Gen. Bill Lockyer sues the chains, alleging that a “mutual-aid” pact they designed to help them withstand the strike and lockout violates federal antitrust laws. The chains deny wrongdoing.

Feb. 11: The stores and union resume talks with a federal mediator, the first formal negotiations in seven weeks.

Feb. 12: Safeway reports a massive fourth-quarter loss, and estimates of the three chains’ combined sales losses during the dispute climb to more than $1.5 billion.

Feb. 26: After 16 straight days of bargaining, the two sides reach a tentative agreement on a three-year contract.

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Source: Times research

Los Angeles Times