LABOR: Grocery union and chains reach contract deal

[Omaha Steve]

X post in Socialist-Progressive

http://www.pe.com/articles/union-694991-members-workers.html

Grocery union leaders reach a tentative contract deal with Albertsons, Ralphs and Vons. Members will be asked to ratify it next week.

BY JACK KATZANEK / STAFF WRITER

Published: May 21, 2014 Updated: 11:05 p.m.

Southern California’s three largest supermarket chains and the union that represents their store workers have reached a tentative agreement on a new contract, bringing several months of often-intense negotiations to what will likely be a successful conclusion.

Some 60,000 members of the United Food & Commercial Workers who work at Ralphs, Albertsons and Vons stores in Southern California will vote to ratify the contract Wednesday, according to the website of Local 770, which represents workers in Los Angeles and Ventura counties.

Greg Conger, president of Local 324 of the union, which represents Orange County workers, confirmed that union and store negotiators have reached a tentative agreement. However, Conger said, the two sides have agreed not to discuss the terms of the deal publicly before the members decide whether to accept it.

Conger did say that he was “very pleased across the board” with the terms of the deal, and he would be willing to talk more about it after the vote. Voting in Inland Southern California usually takes two days because union leaders must go to remote locations such as Blythe and El Centro.

FULL story at link.

[JayhawkSD]

1. One thing to note, and applaud, about grocery unions.

The leadership people are not full time paid positions. They are people who work on the grocery store floors full time and serve as officers only in their spare time. They are paid for that time, but they do not take time off from their work as grocery store workers to perform their uniodn duties, other than at labot negotiation time.

This means that they are truely in touch with the rank and file and that they truely represent the best interest of the workers. This is the way unions should be run, and that's why grocery unions so seldom have to resort to strikes. They will do it when they have to, but the last three times negotiations have been successful.