Southern California grocery workers approve new 3-year contract

LOS ANGELES >> A spokeswoman for Albertsons Saturday called the recently approved contract covering unionized workers at four Southern California supermarket chains “fair and equitable.”

“We are pleased to have reached a fair and equitable agreement with the UFCW,” Courtney Carranza, director of communications and public affairs of the Southern California Division of Albertsons, said in an email to City News Service. Albertsons is also the parent company of Pavilions and Vons.

“We appreciate the union’s partnership in reaching a contract that will benefit our associates and allow us to continue to serve our customers in Southern California.”

The United Food and Commercial Workers announced Friday night that its approximately 45,000 members at Albertsons, Pavilions, Ralphs and Vons stores from San Luis Obispo to the U.S.-Mexico border voted to approve a new three-year contract.

Key provisions of the agreement include substantial wage increases, a new supplemental pension plan to help workers in their retirement, increased health care benefit contributions, faster health care eligibility for new hires and staffing language that includes the union “in evaluating reasonable staffing levels that address efficient operation of the stores, the health and safety of employees, and the quality of customer service,” according to the union.

The six UFCW locals released a statement saying “the journey to contract ratification saw a record turnout of grocery workers, customers, and community members, all fighting for the same thing — better stores, better lives, better communities. They fought to ensure that grocery workers could feed their own families and afford health benefits and a dignified retirement at the end of a long career. They also fought for more staffing to improve the customer experience at their stores.

“Their fight took to the streets where they organized numerous rallies and marches that showed their power. It took to their stores where they stood up and demonstrated their unity by signing petitions and wearing buttons. Grocery workers also joined with customers in the fight for better staffing, talking to over 3,000 customers about their shopping experiences and sharing their feedback with these companies that can afford to do better.

“These actions built the strength needed to reach this agreement. Only by rising up together were grocery workers able to make a change in their workplaces that will benefit all grocery workers and customers in the future.”

The contracts will go into effect immediately.

Workers’ separate contracts with Ralphs and Albertsons expired on March 2.

The union announced June 11 that its members had voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike. Although a walkout had not been called by the union, workers held a series of “practice strike” demonstrations.

A tentative agreement had been reached July 2, subject to approval by union members.

There was no immediate response to an email sent late Friday night to a spokesman for Ralphs seeking comment.

Workers at Stater Bros., Gelson’s, Super A and El Super stores in Southern California are negotiating similar terms with their employers, according to the UFCW.