Grocery Contract Update

We have now officially moved into the auto-renewal phase of the contract. It will continually renew the temporary contract extension until one of the two parties gives 72 hours notice that they are pulling out. The next meeting is set for the 16th and the UFCW has announced that they do not plan to cancel the extension this week.

The LA County Labor Federation, AFL-CIO, the Screen Acters Guild, Teamsters, CWA, SEIU, AFT and several other unions announced that they have sanctioned a USFC strike request. That means that the 800,000+ members will honor the picket line in the event of a work stoppage through a strike authorization or lockout.

Maria Elana Durazo at the LA Labor Fed:

Workers throughout Los Angeles have made a commitment today, to stand in solidarity with our grocery workers in their fight to make their jobs, good middle class jobs again. No Longer will we tolerate companies, who in their race to make more profits, are destroying what once made this city great, a strong middle class.

In granting a strike sanction, the Federation will support the grocery workers in various forms including picket line support, rallies, demonstrations, boycotts, food drives for strikers and coordinating public officials, unions and community support.

Robert Turner:

As an International Representative for the Teamsters, I can tell you this, we will not cross a picket line. It wouldn't be morally right to go against workers who work hard to make businesses profitable, but have no health care and struggle to provide for their families.

Elliot reminds us of what happened during the last labor dispute over at the Courage Campaign.

About 8,000 Teamsters tractor-trailer drivers and warehouse employees refused to cross the picket lines during the last Southern California supermarket labor dispute three years ago, forcing the markets to hire replacement workers to keep their supply lines flowing.

You should have seen the store managers trying to back an 18-wheeler into the stores' loading dock. Pure comedy.

Hopefully it will not come to that, but it does, there will be hundreds and thousands of people who have their back.