Pact comes after union vote to authorize strike against Albertsons.
By ANDREW GALVIN
The Orange County Register

Three big Southern California grocery chains said Wednesday that they have formed an agreement to cooperate with one another in the event of a strike by the supermarket workers union.

Ralphs, Vons and Albertsons said they will lock out union members if the United Food and Commercial Workers union initiates a strike against any one of them. The three chains also agreed to provide financial assistance to any of the companies targeted by a strike.

The announcement, which came 10 days after UFCW leaders received authorization from members to call a strike against Albertsons, raises the specter of another work stoppage like the one three years ago that idled 60,000 employees from all three chains. That 20-week stoppage started in late 2003 when the UFCW struck Vons, triggering lockouts by Albertsons and Ralphs.

"Management is saying (to the union) if you're prepared to do it again so are we," said Daniel J.B. Mitchell, a professor at UCLA's Anderson School of Management. "That doesn't mean they won't settle it without a strike."

The 2003-2004 stoppage featured a mutual-aid pact in which the three chains agreed to help each other financially if any of the chains were disproportionately hurt by lost sales. Bill Lockyer, then California's attorney general, sued the chains over that agreement, claiming it was a violation of antitrust laws. That suit is pending in federal court in Los Angeles and is scheduled for trial in January.

Gareth Lacy, a spokesman for Attorney General Jerry Brown, said "it's premature to speculate" whether the chains' new agreement might raise similar antitrust concerns.

Talks between chains and the union broke off Wednesday because negotiators for the employers were scheduled to fly home for the Easter weekend, said Greg Conger, president of UFCW Local 324 in Buena Park. No more talks are scheduled, although a federal mediator is working to get the sides back to the table, he said.

A contract extension between the three chains and the UFCW runs through Monday, after which it renews automatically each day unless one side gives 72 hours notice to terminate it.

The union wants the three large chains to eliminate a two-tier wage and benefit structure that was agreed to three years ago after the strike and lockout. Under the two-tier system, new hires can't achieve the same compensation as more senior employees. Two smaller chains, Stater Bros. and Gelson's, have agreed to eliminate the two-tier system and put all their employees on the same wage scale.

"We thought we were making progress in our negotiations," Conger said. "For them to now throw down the gauntlet in this manner is very discouraging. I think they're doing it to frighten their employees. … There was no reason other than fear to announce it."

Adena Tessler, a spokeswoman for the three chains, said companies announced their agreement to be "transparent and open about it."

The announcement was made "in direct response" to union leaders' decision to get authorization from Albertsons employees for a strike, Tessler said.

The March 25 vote by Albertsons employees gave union leaders the discretion to call a strike against that chain if they deem it necessary. So far, UFCW members at Ralphs and Albertsons haven't been asked to give a similar authorization.