Grocery Stores: Pension Deal Reached

Grocery stores Vons, Albertsons and Ralphs have reached a tentative agreement with the union representing their employees on the pension portion of the contract, the stores announced Friday.

"We are pleased to have reached an agreement on this important part of the new labor agreement," a statement from the companies said.

"While we still have more work to do on other important parts of the contract, it is noteworthy we have been able to reach an agreement on the very challenging issue of pension benefits and the employers' contributions which fund those benefits."

Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

City News Service reported that United Food and Commercial Workers Local 770, the union representing the workers, had not yet responded to a message left after business hours.

The statement from the grocery chains comes the day after the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor announced that to walk picket lines, attend rallies and provide funds for striking employees should there be a strike.

Despite the apparent progress, it appears the main sticking point in negotiations is employee contributions to health care costs.

The employees' contract, which was ratified in 2007 after more than six months of negotiations, expired in March, and workers voted in April to authorize a strike.

A 141-day strike and lockout in 2003 and 2004 cost the chains an estimated $1.5 billion.

According to the companies' websites, Albertsons and Vons each have three locations in Redondo Beach, while there is only one Ralphs grocery store in the city.

City News Service contributed to this report.