Battered by two years of pandemic stress, tens of thousands of Southern California grocery workers voted to authorize a strike if supermarkets don’t meet their wage demands as negotiations on a new contract resume in the coming weeks.
The vote, taken over five days, could lead to walkouts beginning at some Albertsons, Vons, Pavilions and Ralphs markets stretching from Central California to the Mexican border.
The United Food and Commercial Workers announced its seven local unions voted “overwhelmingly” in favor of authorizing a strike, but delayed releasing a full breakdown of votes, citing a glitch in its electronic voting system.
A spokeswoman for Los Angeles-based Local 770, which includes 18,000 grocery workers, said 94.3% of those voting favored the strike.
A three-year contract covering 47,000 workers at 540 stores expired March 6. Negotiations over a new agreement began in January but stalled three weeks ago. Workers seek substantial wage bumps, higher minimum hours for part-timers and store-level health and safety committees as pandemic concerns persist.
“These companies can either come to the table ready to negotiate a fair deal or we’re going to have to take this fight elsewhere,” said Kathy Finn, secretary-treasurer of UFCW Local 770 in Los Angeles and a lead negotiator.
Bargaining is set to resume Wednesday.
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