POLITICAL LANDSCAPE:Group wants no-shop pledge

As Southern California’s leading grocery chains — Albertsons, Vons and Ralphs — continue contract negotiations with the union representing employees of all three companies, workers’ advocates are bracing for a possible strike.

Negotiations are still in process and both sides have expressed a preference for reaching an agreement over new wages, health care and benefits at the bargaining table.

But the Los Angeles Grocery Worker and Community Health Coalition — a group of Los Angeles-based nonprofits in support of the workers — is soliciting pledges from consumers not to shop at the three stores in the event of a strike or lockout, said Elliot Perry of the Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy, a member of the coalition.

The groups, which include religious leaders, grocery workers and advocates, rallied at Albertsons on West Verdugo Avenue in Burbank on Wednesday before canvassing the neighborhood.

Members of the group left door-hangers with mail-in pledge cards, urging residents to vow not to shop at the stores if a strike or lockout occurs, Perry said.

“The idea is we’re lining up the support to make sure that we’re prepared, no matter what happens,” Perry said.

The grocery workers are represented by the United Food and Commercial Workers union, which hopes to avoid a strike, according to union spokesman Michael Shimpock.

The companies, which have pledged to lock out their union employees from all the three stores if the union strikes one store, also intend to reach an agreement, said Adena Tessler, a spokeswoman for all three companies.

“The companies have been pretty consistent as far as their commitment to the talks,” Tessler said.

“The companies said from the beginning that no one wins in a strike, as we saw in 2004. The shoppers don’t win. The workers don’t win and the companies certainly didn’t win.”

Vons, which also operates Pavilions, is owned by Pleasanton, Calif.-based Safeway Inc. and has seven locations in Glendale, Montrose and Burbank. Albertsons, which is owned by Supervalu Inc., of Eden Prairie, Minn., has three stores in the region. And Ralphs, a division of Kroger Co., of Cincinnati, Ohio, has eight stores in the area, with four in Glendale, three in Burbank and one in La Crescenta.

Assemblyman pushes for truth in music

A bill authored by Assemblyman Anthony Portantino, whose district includes a portion of Montrose, would make it illegal for any person to advertise or conduct a live musical performance with false affiliation with another performer or group.

Assembly Bill 701, the Truth in Music Advertising Act, was passed on the Assembly floor on May 10 with a 68-0 vote.

Under the legislation, individuals would be prohibited from performing live musical performances under the name of a recorded group unless the performers hold a trademark, at least one member of the performing group was a member of the original group, the event is advertised as a tribute or the performing group has prior authorization.

Promoters and performers have used the music of mostly 1950s African-American musical artists without proper authorization for several decades, Portantino said.

“The bill protects both the consumer and the legacy of classic rock-and-roll musicians,” Portantino said.

Some of these groups — including the Platters, the Drifters and the Coasters — could be available for performances, but they are undercut by impostor groups who assume the original group’s name, said Portantino, a former filmmaker.

With the approval by the Assembly last week, the bill will head to the Senate, where it will be considered in the upcoming months, Portantino said.

Congressman calls for piracy crackdown

The Congressional International Anti-Piracy Caucus, co-chaired by Sen. Joe Biden, Sen. Gordon Smith, Rep. Bob Goodlatte and Rep. Adam Schiff, who represents Glendale and Burbank, unveiled the “2007 International Piracy Watch List,” on Thursday.

The list targets China, Russia, Mexico, Canada and Malaysia as primary culprits of international copyright piracy.

With the advance of technology, American businesses have found new opportunities, especially in entertainment, Schiff said.

But many foreign countries are undercutting American businesses by copying and re-distributing CDs, DVDs, computer software, books and television programming, Schiff said.

“So many of my constituents work in these industries and their job depends on this,” Schiff said.

“A lot of people in our district, they’re not the Tom Cruises and Brad Pitts making $10 [million], $20 million per film. They’re the studio musicians, the postproduction people, set designers, all of which are losing a part of their livelihood when the products of their work is stolen and taken for free.”

The “2007 International Piracy Watch List” puts pressure on the governments of the six countries to crack down on piracy practices, Shiff said.

“Canada is probably the illegal camcording capital of the world,” Schiff said.

“There’s little to no enforcement in Canada…. In the case with Russia, they want admission into the World Trade Organization, but we called on rejecting their admission until they have a record of protecting peoples’ intellectual property.”

Morning repast with a representative

Rep. Adam Schiff, whose district includes Glendale and Burbank, posted on his Web log a new office program called “Breakfast with Your Congressman.”

Constituents visiting Washington, D.C., are invited to join Schiff for breakfast every Wednesday morning, whether they are there about a particular issue or as a part of a larger organization, he said.

The breakfast begins at 9 a.m. and will be followed by a tour of the Capitol.

The new office practice will give constituents an opportunity to come to their federal representative with any issues, Schiff said.