Commerce
Home Page

UFCW

UFCW strike

Pictures from UFCW Local 135 Rally in San Diego on 4 February

Cardinal Roger Mahony asks the parties to the US supermarket strike to commit themselves to 'creative compromises' that could end the four month old conflict. This follows the employers' uncompromising 'NO' to last week's offer from the UFCW locals to end the strike and to accept binding mediation. Negotiations are, however, expected to continue this week under the leadership of a government mediator.

In his letter to UFCW Local 770 president Rick Icaza and Safeway CEO Steve Burd, Cardinal Mahony asks them to look at all issues from a 'new and fresh approach':

- May I respectfully urge each of you, and those who share the responsibility of reaching a final settlement, to take all the steps necessary to resolve this impasse, the Catholic Archbishop of Los Angeles wrote, as quoted today by the NBC4TV website.

On 19 December, the UFCW locals offered a compromise to the three supermarket chains, but this was rejected. These companies have not moved from their positions - no new proposals have been received from them since 2 December, the union locals say, according to Saturday's North County Times in San Diego.

Cardinal Mahony's letter illustrates well the growing impatience of community and religious leaders with the behaviour of Safeway's Steve Burd and his fellow managers in the boardrooms of Kroger and Albertsons.

The companies will release their year-end results within the next few days. These will probably show that losses in California do indeed amount to between 1.5 and 2 billion dollars, but that the overall economic results are still clearly in the black.

These results will not only show how huge US corporations like these three retailers can use their incomes from other parts of the large country to finance even a large regional conflict like this strike of California's supermarket workers. They also show that this is indeed a conflict caused by corporate greed. There is no sound economic case for these employers to demand that workers give up the affordable health insurance that their families employ, or that new wage scales far below the present are introduced.

If Safeway, Kroger and Albertsons would succeed in relegating their workers to America's growing ranks of the working poor, this would have far-reaching effects also on the country's communities. The flood gates could well open for a massive campaign by large corporations to cut wages and benefits, to get rid of collective agreements, and to destroy the trade unions which they see as adversaries, not as social partners.