Union federation to honor pickets if SoCal grocery workers strike

ALEX VEIGA
Associated Press

LOS ANGELES - A federation of labor unions said Monday its members would honor picket lines should thousands of Southern California grocery workers go on strike or be locked out over a contract dispute with three national supermarket chains.

The Los Angeles County Federation of Labor said its more than 800,000 members would also mobilize for demonstrations, boycotts and food drives to aid striking grocery workers.

"Workers throughout Los Angeles County have made a commitment today, to stand in solidarity with our grocery workers in their fight to make their jobs, good middle-class jobs again," said Maria Elena Durazo, the federation's executive secretary-treasurer.

The organization is home to more than 300 unions, including the Screen Actors Guild, the Teamsters, the Service Employees International Union, and the American Federation of Teachers, among others.

Contract talks between the supermarket chains - Supervalu Inc.'s Albertsons, Kroger Co.'s Ralphs and Safeway Inc.'s Vons and Pavilions - and their employees' union, the United Food and Commercial Workers, have been taking place since January.

A single contract covering 65,000 workers at the markets' 785 stores from San Luis Obispo and Bakersfield south to San Diego expired March 5. That deal has been extended twice, with the latest extension due to expire at the end of the day Monday. It then renews automatically on a daily basis until any of the parties opts out.

A mutual aid pact struck between the grocery chains last week raised the prospect that a strike against any of the markets would trigger a lockout by the rest of the grocers.

On Wednesday, union negotiators broke off talks with the companies, citing the chains' pact.

The deal calls for the chains to lock out employees within 48 hours if the union orders a selective strike against one of the chains. The companies also agreed to provide financial assistance to chains with employees who walk out.

Albertsons employees voted overwhelmingly the previous week to give union leaders the authority to call a strike against the chain.

Negotiations were scheduled to resume April 16.