Union and Grocery Chains Meet Again Tuesday to Renegotiate

By Erik Anderson / Environment Reporter, KPBS Public Broadcasting

Published May 22, 2007 at 12:23 PM PDT

This story was published more than 17 years ago.

Union workers and company officials from three of Southern California's largest grocery chains are back at the bargaining table Tuesday. Some 65,000 unionized workers have been working day-to-day unde

Union workers and company officials from three of Southern California's largest grocery chains are back at the bargaining table Tuesday. Some 65,000 unionized workers have been working day-to-day under terms of an expired contract since early March.

Mike Shimpock speaks for the union. He says differences over health care and wages are keeping a contract from being signed.

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Shimpock : The fact that we haven't been able to negotiate a contract with Vons, Ralph's, and Albertsons -- these large market chains that are making billions of dollars in profits and can clearly afford to give their employees a fair wage -- is raising levels of frustration.

Shimpock says the union did agree in January on a new contract with the Stater Brothers Chain. That deal calls for an end to the two tier wage system in the last grocery workers contract. Company officials say they are looking for contract terms that allow them to compete in a very crowded market.