Super Market Strikes, in southern california

[R_P_A_S]

Not sure if many of you are aware of the current situation. Myself included is just finding out and I can't seem to find more information on the matter. I was in England and I just got back to the states and here on the local news there are talks of a potential workers strike of 3 mayor super market chains. Albertson's, Ralph's and Vons'...

does anyone here have any links or detail news?

[RGacky3]

Did'nt that happen a couple years ago? or just like a year ago? a huge super market strike.

When it happened last it was pretty much a top down, business union type action, not a grassroots syndicalist strike.

Although these situation should always been seen as an opportunity

[Janus]

UFCW website with press releases (http://www.ufcw.org/press_room/)

Grocers to unite if strike occurs (http://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/business/20070405-9999-1b5grocery.html&sa=X&oi=news&ct=result&cd=1&usg=__DRPNG9P4qs1-bkSgSupZI-oMjPo=)

Souther California workers in contract negotiations (http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2003558504_supermarketlabor06.html)

Grocery chains sign agreement in response to strike threats (http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A9htfMPjQBVGh9wAmAHQtDMD;_ylu=X3oDMTBjb3ZrYjN kBHBvcwM0BHNlYwNzcg--/SIG=12b0rvpja/EXP=1175884387/**http%3a//biz.yahoo.com/prnews/070404/law087.html%3f.v=101)

Chances of strike climb (http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A9htfMPjQBVGh9wAmgHQtDMD;_ylu=X3oDMTBjZGM1ZGE 1BHBvcwM1BHNlYwNzcg--/SIG=1332885dj/EXP=1175884387/**http%3a//www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-grocery5apr05,1,4566859.story%3ftrack=rss)

Unions leave contract talks (http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A9htfMPjQBVGh9wAogHQtDMD;_ylu=X3oDMTBjMzRvMDB nBHBvcwM5BHNlYwNzcg--/SIG=138tremal/EXP=1175884387/**http%3a//www.latimes.com/business/la-ex-supermarkets5apr05,1,6074417.story%3ftrack=rss)

[Nothing Human Is Alien]

The UFCW leadership has proved itself to be completely worthless. Remember the last grocery workers' strike in Cali??

[redcannon]

yeah it happened a couple of years ago. its great though, i always appreciate workers striking. it means that something bad is gonna be changed (and I can yell at worthless scabs)

[Political_Chucky]

yea but has affected a lot of grocery workers(particularly my dad) in a bad way. My dad has worked for Stator Bros. (a market exclusive to so-cal) for about 30 years. He has never earned a lot, just enough to get us by. When the strike happend, our health benifets went to the crapper and the contracts changed for us. For example, I went to work for them about a year after the protests and it sucked because before they were starting workers at 8.00 sumthing, but when I got there, it was minimum wage( at that time 6.75). Hours began to be shit, and after working there for two years, I got a 30 cent raise to 7.05, which wasn't anything compared to what older workers were getting who were on the old contracts, which was like 9.50. Well, besides my own complaining, my dads hours got cut and now he has two jobs instead of just that one(which he was working like 10 hours a day, 6 days a week to begin with). Well since then I quit because the opprotunities there were crap, but from what I heard, the pay they start checkers at went up to like $11.00 so i'm guessing its gettings better.

[razboz]

Are you saying after the strike the situation of the workers got worse? :blink:

unions over there must be pathetic when actual striking only makes stuff worse. Around where i live the Unions are all sell-out Capitalist jackals but at least the bosses listen to them when they strike... :huh:

Are there any radical unions for grocery or supermarket workers?

[RNK]

Originally posted by [email protected] 08, 2007 10:44 am
Are you saying after the strike the situation of the workers got worse? :blink:

unions over there must be pathetic when actual striking only makes stuff worse. Around where i live the Unions are all sell-out Capitalist jackals but at least the bosses listen to them when they strike... :huh:

Are there any radical unions for grocery or supermarket workers?
That is essentially the state of North America. Unions have very little actual power; certainly not enough to even remotely challenge our capitalist class. More often than not, strikers capitulate with little or no gain, and are penalized later (some companies enforce policies that ban unionization). With the 'disposable' nature of our work force it is very easy for companies to utterly dominate and bully workers into capitulation, or simply lay off entire plants and "restock" their labour force, or, as is becoming more common, ship production overseas where the workers' situation is even worse.

[razboz]

I find it difficult to imagine Unions being so powerless. It seems coutner intuitive: if the unions are the workers and the workers are what keep the company in buisness how the hell can the company not listen to the Unions?

but then i remember the situation i saw in mexico during my brief time working with catering for builders: Unions acting as organised criminals rather then protectors of the workers. But at least they still hold some power int he face of the bosses. What is impeding the workers of America from unionising?

[Janus]

I find it difficult to imagine Unions being so powerless. It seems coutner intuitive: if the unions are the workers and the workers are what keep the company in buisness how the hell can the company not listen to the Unions?
It's not that difficult to imagine with corrupt and bureaucratic unions.

[redcannon]

Originally posted by [email protected] 09, 2007 02:19 am
I find it difficult to imagine Unions being so powerless. It seems coutner intuitive: if the unions are the workers and the workers are what keep the company in buisness how the hell can the company not listen to the Unions?

good question. the answer is very easy, all you have to do is look around a bit and you'll find companies can get around those pesky "unions".

[Chicano Shamrock]

Originally posted by RNK+April 08, 2007 03:08 am--> (RNK @ April 08, 2007 03:08 am)
[email protected] 08, 2007 10:44 am
Are you saying after the strike the situation of the workers got worse? :blink:

unions over there must be pathetic when actual striking only makes stuff worse. Around where i live the Unions are all sell-out Capitalist jackals but at least the bosses listen to them when they strike... :huh:

Are there any radical unions for grocery or supermarket workers?
That is essentially the state of North America. Unions have very little actual power; certainly not enough to even remotely challenge our capitalist class. More often than not, strikers capitulate with little or no gain, and are penalized later (some companies enforce policies that ban unionization). With the 'disposable' nature of our work force it is very easy for companies to utterly dominate and bully workers into capitulation, or simply lay off entire plants and "restock" their labour force, or, as is becoming more common, ship production overseas where the workers' situation is even worse. [/b]
Except for the ILWU. We own the ports on the west coast. We can shut them down at the drop of a hat. But I wish it was more than west coast. From what I have heard from a former Albertsons worker is that it was worse after the strikes. I really can't understand why it would be worse. If it was worse I would think why not strike again or better yet slowdown.

[Floyce White]

There were many unfortunate aspects to the 2003 strike. To begin with, the timing of the strike was not coordinated to begin with another strike against Kroger in Kentucky, Ohio, and elsewhere in the Midwest. It was not coordinated to begin with the end of the contract of Northern California grocery workers at the same chains. The narrowness of the strike to only the Southern California local was a totally unnecessary weakness.

The union never held strike meetings. Reps went out to picket lines to informally pass on information. The union never went door-to-door or did any other activity to build community support. They held only two public rallies in San Diego. Outside of some help from the Teamsters, there was virtually no solidarity. And in the next few years, UFCW offered virtually no solidarity to others. While the UFCW has been one of the more publicly-visible organizers, it has been extremely unsuccessful organizing at grocery-selling stores such as Wal-Mart.

Picketters were paid strike benefits according to law about hours on the picket line--as if it were just more work for pay. When the union couldn't pay strike benefits anymore, it shut down the picket lines. The workers themselves were almost completely ignorant of typical methods of workplace struggle because of the many years of cringing cowardice by the AFL-CIO officaldom. I had many, many discussions on the picket line. The workers absolutely hated the situation and didn't know what to do differently. I made suggestions and gave examples, but there just wasn't enough help from others to encourage union members to take any other course of action.

Leftists made total fools of themselves in San Diego by organizing a phoney "committee" that went on Saturdays to make a big noise at the City Heights Vons. Ordinary union members wouldn't have anything to do with them. When two leftists provoked the cops and were arrested, the local president went before TV cameras to side with the cops against the leftists.

Some of those who had been strong in the struggle in 2003 said they'd quit rather than go through a losing strike again. It was that bad a defeat. And unless we and other workers help them, it will be a worse defeat this time if they go out.

BTW, after the unprecented local protests in spring 2003 at various major street intersections all over Southern California, it was a double whammy to see picket lines again, all over Southern California, at major street intersections. The two events had an enormous impact on mass consciousness as well as on other strikes, such as the LA bus strike.