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UFCW fact sheet on employers' proposals
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Safeway
& Co. get nervous, authorities probe into possible anti-trust
violations:
Almost 80,000 supermarket workers in California and other parts of the United States continue their fight for affordable healthcare. On strike or locked out by their employers, they are in the frontline in fighting against a continued impoverishment of large groups of American workers. UNI Commerce affiliate UFCW is supported by the entire trade union movement, both in the United States and abroad. Commercial workers' unions from all over the globe have sent hundreds of support messages to the striking workers.
For almost two months now, supermarket giant Safeway is continuing its attack against the workers, wanting to transform US retail trade into a low income industry. Supported by two other giant supermarket operators, Kroger and Albertsons, the company wants to remove the affordable health care, which UFCW collective agreements give to workers and their families. Also wages are under attack: Future workers would be paid considerably below present collective agreement levels.
There are clear signs that Safeway and the other employers are getting nervous. The legal authorities in California are now studying whether they are violating competition rules by having agreed to share their profits and losses during the strike. With this, the employers try to counter the effects of Kroger stores not being picketed, and thus having had an increase in their profits.
The support from the Teamsters union, whose 8,000 workers in the distribution centres of the supermarket chains now refuse to cross UFCW picket lines, is more and more felt. Deliveries are delayed for days, if not weeks, and not much is moving out from the warehouses although the companies have hired strike-breakers.
In a separate case, some institutional investors are taking Safeway to court, saying that poor management has caused them considerable losses. The company lost huge amounts after a less successful take-over of another supermarket operator, Chicago based Dominick's.
The US press reported that negotiations were once again resumed yesterday (Monday).
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