Community Corner

Grocery Workers Vote on New Contract

Negotiators from the United Food and Commercial Workers union and Ralphs, Albertsons and Vons ward off a strike.

Grocery workers across Southern California were set to vote Friday on whether to ratify a new contract agreement with three supermarket chains to prevent a strike, City News Service reported. Union members have been working without a contract since spring.

Negotiators for the United Food and Commercial Workers union and grocery chains , Vons and Albertsons reached a Monday morning—less than 24 hours after Sunday's 7:10 p.m. strike deadline.

Details of the agreement were not released; however, union officials said they were confident that the new agreement took care of the health-coverage issues that triggered last week's 72-hour strike notice.

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"We have attained our most important goal, which was continuing to provide comprehensive health care to the members and their families," the union said in a statement. "The grocery workers of Southern California stood together, strong and united, throughout this long and difficult process. They refused to accept anything less than a contract that protects their wages, benefits and working conditions.

"We are proud of them."

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The deal "continues to preserve good wages, secure pensions and access to quality, affordable health care—while allowing us to be competitive in the marketplace," according to a joint statement from the grocery chains.

Negotiators did not say how the were solved.

Both sides worked to stave off a lockout like the one that hit the industry from 2003-2004. The 141-day lockout cost the stores an estimated $1.5 billion.

Raphs has one store in Redondo Beach, while Vons and Albertsons each have three locations in the city.

City News Service contributed to this report.


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