Grocery Workers Authorize Strike

A grocery store workers union that represents about 62,000 employees of , and Albertsons in Southern California has announced Sunday that it’s ready to call a strike if a new labor deal cannot be reached for workers.

Members of United Food and Commercial Workers, employed at stores from Santa Barbara County to the Mexico border, have been working without a contract since March 6.

And, , more than 90 percent of the members agreed to authorize a strike.

The union wants the supermarkets to contribute more to a health care fund it claims will run out of money within a year.

Under the current workers contract, employees would pay about $36 per month for individual health insurance, or $92 per month for family coverage.

No tentative agreement on wages has been reached, according to reports.

A 141-day strike that began in 2003, which cost grocery stores about $1.5 billion, led some customers to make long-term changes to their shopping habits by going to independent grocers and specialty outlets.

Workers and stores have agreed that the last strike hurt both sides.

"We don't want another strike, but we need to protect our health benefits for ourselves and our families," said Mario Frias, a Ralphs employee, Saturday as union members cast ballots.

Mickey Kasparian, the president of UFCW Local 135, said a federal mediator would continue to work toward a resolution, but a strike could be called in five or six days if there are no positive developments.

"If we don't get a deal, we'll take this fight to the streets," Kasparian said.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for the grocery chains called the strike authorization vote a common negotiating tactic.

— City News Service.

Earlier coverage of the grocery workers' contract on Patch: