Southern California grocery workers ratify new contract

Southern California grocery workers ratified a new four-year contract on July 22. The
65,000 workers, employed at 785 stores from central California down to the Mexican
border, are members of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW).
Driven by memories of the 2003-2004 supermarket strike – a disaster for the stores
and the unions, and a major inconvenience for shoppers – both sides have shifted
strategies and are already vying for the public relations high ground. The supermarket
chains and their unions carry painful scars from the strike. The Ralphs chain,
convicted of illegally rehiring locked-out workers, has paid $70 million and remains
under federal probation. The union had to cave in and accept a two-tier health plan
after the 20-week shutdown. “Nobody won, not in a strike like that,” said Jack Kyser,
chief economist at the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. “Workers
left the industry and had to find new careers. The stores lost customers and had to shut
down some of their under-performing stores.
The union said more than half of workers cast ballots, with 87 percent approving the
contract, which is retroactive to March 6, 2007. The workers are employed by
Ralph’s, owned by Kroger; Albertsons, owned by Supervalu; and Vons, owned by
Safeway.

The agreement follows seven months of negotiations and two strike authorization
votes. Management, union bureaucrats and the media hailed the contract, calling it a
“win-win” situation. However, the touted victory was only a partial recoup of the
devastating concessions given up in the settlement of the 19-week strike/lockout in
2003-2004, the longest supermarket strike in US history. The UFCW betrayed the
strike, isolating workers and eventually forcing through a contract slashing benefits
for existing employees and instituting a two-tier system that imposed huge cuts in pay
and benefits for new workers.

The new contract eliminates the two-tier wage system created by the last contract, but
it will take most workers longer than before, from six to nine years, to reach the top
pay scale. In just a few positions, such as meat cutter, will it require only two years to
reach top pay.

There were 33,000 so-called second-tier workers hired after the 2003-2004 strike at
pay rates far lower than veteran, or first-tier, workers. Entering at $7.55 an hour, five
cents above the California minimum wage, they worked next to senior store
employees who earned $12.17 to $17.90 an hour with benefits.

The pay increases, retroactive to March 5, were paltry given the high cost of living in
the state. Over the next four years the majority of workers will get a $1.65 increase. In
addition, according to one Albertsons worker in Thousand Oaks, the contract did not
address the problem of some higher seniority, first-tier workers getting paid second-
tier wages. They will have to wait longer to get raises.

The waiting period for healthcare eligibility was reduced to six months for new hires
and dependent children, and 24 months for spouses. Previously it took more than a
year for workers to get eligibility, and 30 months for children and spouses. However,
former second-tier workers will have to wait five-and-a-half years to qualify for the
top healthcare plan.
Preventive healthcare will be covered for all workers and will include routine
physicals, mammograms, prostate cancer screenings, baby care and childhood
immunizations. The union will supplement healthcare coverage, supplying $3,000 for
each employee, contributing $240 million from a healthcare trust fund, managed
jointly by the union and the grocery companies.

In the past, supermarkets gave a set amount of money to cover healthcare benefits; the
new deal creates $1,000 reimbursement accounts for each employee to pay for
medical visits. Another key change is an emphasis on wellness programs, such as
weight loss and programs to quit smoking.

Kevin Herglotz, senior vice president of Vons owner Safeway Inc., said employers
were able to offer wage increases and improved health benefits because the union
agreed to significant initiatives that will help control the companies’ expenses.

It appears that the grocery chains retreated on the two-tier system in part because of
problems associated with high employee turnover. Citing similar concerns, Stater
Bros., Southern California’s fourth-largest unionized grocer, signed a contract that
eliminated the two-tier wage system and increased health and pensions for its 16,000
workers earlier this year.

The grocery chains also appeared to be anxious to avoid a confrontation at this time,
given that a major potential competitor, Britain’s largest retailer Tesco, has
announced it is spending $2 billion to launch Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market and
will open 100 small-format stores in the western US, about half of them in Southern
California.
Human cost of 2003-2004 strike

Recent reports present a clear picture of the enormous human cost of the trade union
bureaucracy’s betrayal in 2004. A University of California, Berkeley study documents
the fact that 20,000 children of grocery workers lost their health coverage under the
2004 contract. A Reuter’s news article reported that the huge sacrifices imposed by
the contract took a toll on workers and their families in the form of suicides, lost
homes and divorces.

The UC Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Education report published in
January documents the decline in healthcare for grocery workers as a result of the
2003-2004 strike. Researcher Ken Jacobs said it was shocking how quickly healthcare
coverage evaporated. He commented, “It is very dramatic and very disturbing, but it
does really reflect the long-term trends. And if changes aren’t made on a policy level,
we will see much greater deterioration in job-based coverage in the state.”

Based on data gathered from UFCW locals in Northern and Southern California and
interviews with 755 rank-and-file members, Jacobs, Arindrajit Dube and Felix Su
compiled the report called “Declining Health Coverage in the Southern California
Grocery Industry.” Its findings included the following:
* Before the last strike, 94 percent of Southern California UFCW workers had health
coverage. Now only 54 percent have coverage.

* For workers hired under the new contract, waiting periods increased from four
months to a year for individual coverage, 18 months for courtesy clerks, and 30
months for family coverage. New workers were required to pay 20 percent of the
premium cost while getting poverty wages.

* Of the workers hired since April 2004, only 7 percent of these workers were
covered through their employer. Half are uninsured and the rest are covered through a
parent or spouse’s employer or receive government aid. There are now 20,000 fewer
children covered by grocery store health insurance plans.

* The study also found that 20 percent of workers reported that they skipped needed
doctor visits because of the cost.

At a hearing before the Blue Ribbon Commission on the Los Angeles Grocery
Industry and Community Health in January, one grocery worker testified that he had
cancer, but had to rely on government programs to pay his bills because he was not
covered by his employer. Another worker said he needed medical care but would have
to wait 11 months to see a doctor until his insurance went into effect.

In an article in the San Diego Union-Tribune, Jacobs wrote, “This steep and sudden
drop in job-based health coverage among grocery workers in Southern California over
the last three years is emblematic of what is happening with job-based healthcare in
general in California and the United States, but just at a speedier pace. And as bad as
the healthcare situation of the Southern California workers is, their options are still
better than those of Wal-Mart workers. Between 2001 and 2006, the proportion of
Californians with job-based coverage fell by 5 percent.”

The WSWS spoke with Phyllis, a seafood deli worker with 30 years service at a
Ralph’s in Irvine. She said, “It still didn’t make up for all that we lost in the last
contract. There are parts of the contract that are good. The medical is good, especially
for families, (but) there aren’t many workers like myself with 30 years in the industry.
I am ‘grandfathered’ out because I’ve already reached the top level of pay. Still I’d
like some kind of increase because of the cost of living going up.

“It’s hard to understand all the complicated contractual language. We’re only told the
‘highlights.’ One thing though that’s new, those of us in the meat and seafood section
must now work in any other department when there’s a need.

“It seems very wrong to me that we’re working so hard making these wages, while
many of the union people are making more. I don’t think that’s right. They shouldn’t
be paid so much. Frankly, I don’t trust them or the company.”

The new supermarket contract will encourage workers to pay attention to the price of
health care by giving each employee control over a health savings account. Herglotz
says any money that isn't spent one year can be saved for bigger health bills in future
years.
UFCW members and their union leaders in Southern California fought long and hard
through six months of negotiations for this contract, and it is a major improvement
over the previous one. The new four-year contract includes:
Elimination of the unfair “two-tier” wage and benefit structure;
Wage increases ranging between $1.65 and $6 over the life of the contract;
All wages increases retroactive to previous contract expiration in March;
Increased contributions to secure pension benefits;
Significant improvements to all health care plans; and
Necessary funding for health care guaranteed through the contract.
"wellness incentive" program was set up. Initially, the program will provide a cash
incentive of $50 to workers who agree to a "personal health assessment" designed to
identify potential medical problems. There will be "financial assistance" to workers
who want to quit smoking or who are willing to begin a "weight management
regimen."
California ,lucrători din supermarketuri ratifica un nou contract
Motivat de amintirile de grevă supermarket 2003-2004 - un dezastru pentru magazine
şi sindicatele, şi un inconvenient major pentru cumpărători - ambele părţi şi-au
schimbat strategiile sunt deja vying pentru relaţii cu publicul la sol înaltă. Lanţuri de
supermarketuri şi sindicatele lor purta cicatrici dureroase de la grevă. lanţ Ralphs,
condamnat ilegal reangajarea muncitorilor blocat-out, a plătit 70 milioane dolari şi
rămâne sub supraveghere federala. Uniunea a trebuit să peşteră şi a accepta un plan de
sănătate pe două niveluri după închiderea de 20 săptămâni. "Nimeni nu a castigat, nu
într-o grevă de genul asta", a declarat Jack Kyser, economist-sef la Los Angeles
County Economic Development Corp ", muncitorii au plecat în industrie şi a trebuit
să găsească noi cariere. magazine pierdut clienţi şi a trebuit să închidă unele dintre
magazinele lor sub-performante.
California lucrătorilor băcănie ratificat un nou contract de patru ani pe 22 iulie 2007.
Cele 65.000 de muncitori, angajaţi la 785 magazine din centrul Californiei până la
graniţa mexicană, sunt membri ai United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW).
Înainte de ultima greva, 94 la suta din lucrători aveau acoperire de sănătate. Acum,
doar 54 la sută au o acoperire.
Uniunea a spus ca lucrătorii au aprobat 87 la suta noul contract. lucrătorii sunt
angajaţi de către lui Ralph, detinut de Kroger; Albertsons, deţinute de Supervalu şi
Vons, detinuta de Safeway.

Acordul a fost precedat de şapte luni de negocieri şi două voturi de autorizare a

grevei. Managementul şi mass-media au salutat contract, numindu-l un "win-win"
situaţie. Cu toate acestea, a fost doar o victorie parţială de recuperare a concesiilor
devastatoare cedate în soluţionarea grevei din 2003-2004, cea mai lungă grevă din
istoria Statelor Unite. trădat UFCW greva, izolare lucrătorilor şi în cele din urmă
forţând printr-un contract de aspră beneficii pentru angajaţi existente şi instituirea
unui sistem dualist, care a impus reduceri uriaşe în remunerare şi beneficii pentru
lucrători noi.
Perioada de aşteptare pentru eligibilitate de asistenţă medicală a fost redus la şase luni
pentru noii veniti şi copiii aflaţi în întreţinere, şi 24 de luni pentru soţi. Anterior,
acesta a luat mai mult de un an pentru lucrători pentru a obţine de eligibilitate, şi 30
de luni pentru copiii şi soţii /. Cu toate acestea, foştilor lucrători doilea nivel va trebui
să aştepte cinci ani şi jumătate pentru a se califica pentru planul de asistenţă medicală
de top.

Asistenţă medicală preventivă vor fi acoperite pentru toţi lucrătorii şi va include

physicals de rutină, mamografii, proiectii de cancer de prostata, pentru îngrijirea
copilului şi imunizări copilărie. Uniunea va suplimenta acoperire de asistenţă
medicală, furnizarea de 3.000 dolari pentru fiecare salariat, contribuind 240 milioane
dolari de la un fond de asistenţă medicală, gestionate în comun de către Uniune şi
companiile bacanie.

* Pentru muncitorii angajaţi în cadrul noului contract, perioadele de aşteptare a

crescut de la patru luni la un an pentru acoperirea individuale, şi 30 de luni pentru o
acoperire de familie. Noi lucrători au fost obligaţi să plătească 20 la sută din costul
primelor în timp ce obţinerea salariile sărăciei.
Membrii UFCW şi liderii lor de sindicat din California au luptat mult şi din greu in
cele şase luni de negocieri pentru acest contract, şi este o îmbunătăţire majoră faţă de
cea anterioară. Noul contract de patru ani include:
Eliminarea salariilor şi structura beneficii "pe două nivele";
Creşteri salariale cuprinse între 1.65 dolari şi 6 dolari pe durata de viaţă a
contractului;
creşteri salariile retroactiv de la expirarea contractului anterior în martie;
Creşterea contribuţiilor pentru a asigura beneficii de pensie;
Îmbunătăţiri semnificative la toate planurile de îngrijire a sănătăţii; şi
Finanţarea necesară pentru sănătate garantat prin contract.

Contractul nou va încuraja lucrătorii să acorde o atenţie la preţul de îngrijire a

sănătăţii prin acordarea fiecarui angajat mai mult control asupra contului de economii
de sănătate. orice bani care nu sunt cheltuiti intr-un un an pot fi salvati pentru facturi
mai mari de sănătate în anii următori.
Programul "wellness stimulent" a fost creat. Iniţial, programul va oferi un stimulent în
numerar de 50 dolari pentru lucrătorii care au optat pentru o "evaluare a sănătăţii
personale", concepute pentru a identifica eventualele probleme medicale. Va fi
asigurată "asistenţă financiară"lucrătorilor care doresc să renunţe la fumat sau care
sunt dispuşi să înceapă un "regim de gestionare a greutăţii."