Teamsters Halt Food Deliveries to Markets (SoCal grocery strike)

[pmbryant]

From the LA Times: Nov 25 2003

Teamsters Halt Food Deliveries to Markets

By Nancy Cleeland
Times Staff Writer
November 25, 2003

Giving a boost to striking supermarket clerks, the Teamsters union Monday ordered its drivers and warehouse workers to honor picket lines at grocery distribution centers in Southern California, disrupting food deliveries during one of the busiest shopping weeks of the year.

More than 8,000 members of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters will be sidelined at 10 distribution centers in Southern and Central California for the duration of the strike, said Jim Santangelo, president of Teamsters Joint Council 42.

(snip)

But retail industry consultant Burt Flickinger of Strategic Resource Group in New York said the Teamsters' move could force the grocery chains to reconsider their demands.

"This is an absolute crippler for the supermarket chains," he said. "It raises the stakes and ensures that between the three chains, they'll lose over half a billion dollars collectively between October and November from the strike."

The United Food and Commercial Workers union launched the strike against Safeway's Vons and Pavilions stores on Oct. 11. The following day, Kroger Co.'s Ralphs and Albertsons Inc., which bargain jointly with Safeway, locked out their union workers. The union objected to employer proposals to cut health benefits and to create a significantly lower pay and benefit scale for new hires.

About 70,000 UFCW workers at 859 stores in Southern California and parts of Central California are involved.

(snip)

More: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-super25nov25,1,5631459.story?coll=la-home-leftrail

[54anickel]

1. SOLIDARITY!!! Why'd they wait so long?

[OldSoldier]

5. If the Teamsters want to impact the chains, now is the time

A supermarket that can't get deliveries two days before Thanksgiving is screwed, and both the chains and the Teamsters know it.

[54anickel]

7. True, hopefully the chains didn't see this coming since the Teamsters

have been crossing the lines all along.
Chains will be in quite the scramble to find independents to carry the loads on such sort notice.
Great strategy!

[BlackFrancis]

8. They did see this coming

intentionally or not the teamsters telegraphed this punch about a week ago.

[54anickel]

12. Whoops. Have to watch it play out now. Do you know how it happened?

I must admit I've not followed this one too closely.

[BlackFrancis]

16. I heard it on the radio a few days ago..

Management came back and said they were already staffed, stocked and braced for it.

Of course, that would be about what you would expect them to say no matter what so...:shrug:

[54anickel]

18. Thanks. Have to wait and see. The Xmas season is upon now, should

cause even more losses. Notice the article estimated Oct. Nov. only.

[Snow]

10. Correct me if I'm wrong, but

I thought the Teamsters were driving the trucks up to the picket lines, then not crossing? So that one of the management would have to come up and back the truck up to the loading dock? There was a funny article about that in the LA times a coupla weeks ago.

[joefree1]

17. No more.

That was before. Now the Teamsters won't drive at all if they know the delivery is to Vons, Pavillions, or Ralphs. As a result many Teamsters will not have any work. That takes balls.

"It's not over 'till Arnold gropes the fat lady" —Bill Press, on MSNBC

http://www.recallarnoldwatch.org

[proud patriot]

2. YAYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!

:bounce:

[mmm]

3. wal mart workers need to unionize - NOW!

the answer is not to break the food worker's unions but to
bring the unions to wal mart.

[ugarte]

4. Great news!

Let's hope they keep the pressure on.

[Bandit]

6. I'm speechless

The roll-over Teamsters finally realizing what a union means. I'm sure Hoffa will have something to say about this as soon as his ass reaming is over from KKKarl Rove.

[schultzee]

9. Great! What we need is a general strike like they have in Europe

Only problem is that the corportist pigs would probably fire those not in unions who show solidarity. Unionize evryone!

[Occulus]

11. this paragraph

at the very end, is of note:

"Meanwhile, the UFCW expanded its picketing outside the strike area, sending striking and locked-out workers to Safeway stores in Northern California, Washington, Baltimore and Denver. The "informational pickets" are part of a union strategy to spread the financial pain from the strike to other regions where the chains have operations.

Wow. As a postal employee, I feel sooooo hobbled- we can't do anything like this as a coordinated effort. As a result, union officials are forced to "play nice" whether they like it or not, regardless of the issue. Arbitration is supposed to handle the grievances, but when the business is being run by a group of people who refuse to completely honor the contract they signed and are not really held accountable for doing so, it creates a massive backlog of very petty issues that management refuses to handle. When the people in charge are willing to violate the contract at nearly every turn, and the union involved is forbidden by law from going on strike, it creates a horrible working environment devoid of trust in which the employees are treated like crap and just don't want to be there at all.

I really hate my working environment. The people in charge are to blame for that. Our union can do nothing about it.

[david_vincent]

37. Have you ever heard of the way they do it in Canada?

CUPW (Canadian Union of Postal Workers) is famous for holding strikes right during the Christmas gift-sending rush. I think they did it two years in a row (Canadians, correct me if I'm wrong) and then just the threat of doing it again was sufficient for them to make their point.
I remember walking into a P.O. up North one day and the clerk was wearing a button that said "The Struggle Continues". I rather naively asked him "What struggle?" and he looked me right in the eye and said, "The struggle for basic human rights and dignity." Here in the States he'd probably be fired for saying that.

[PVnRT]

13. This former UFCW member is happy

:yourock:

[thebaghwan]

14. Why don't we just have a general strike period and show Bush the door.

I'm boycotting Christmas this year. We will get together with family and friends but there will be no gift giving.

I think that we should have a huge general strike in the early spring to set the stage for the political conventions. I would definitely support such an endeavor.

[joefree1]

15. Good news and we're still not shopping at Ralphs!

Even though the locked-out employees stopped their pickets we never went back to shopping at Ralphs. And we won't return until the lock-out is over. My family and friends have discovered the joys of shopping at Trader Joe's and some local independent markets.

And we never shop at Wal-mart. Yech!

"It's not over 'till Arnold gropes the fat lady" —Bill Press, on MSNBC

http://www.recallarnoldwatch.org

[xxqqqzme]

24. why did the pickets disappear @

Ralph's? I have re-discovered Trader Joe's. I am impressed w/ the improvements during the last 2 years.

[realFedUp]

19. How much money is Vons losing during this strike?

I am for the strike and hope this move by the Teamsters
hurries up negotiations by Vons...I have to think they've
lost a bunch of money and with the holidays coming up,
can't afford to lose that business.

[slackmaster]

26. Probably shitloads

Support for the strike is very strong here in San Diego. I don't know many people who have crossed the picket line.

[GregW]

20. THIS is why I hate unions

Explain to me what right these strikers have to deprive me and my family the ability to buy food?

[Bandit]

21. How are you being deprived food?

Are those the only grocery stores in the world? Get a grip. These people are fighting for their livlihoods and you bitch because you are momentarily slightly inconvenienced.

[Lars39]

22. and how this strike turns out could possibly affect everyone's insurance

benefits. The grocery store owners want to use Walmart as their model, and reduce or cut out health insurance for their employees.

[Ctuser]

23. you like your payed vacation

You like 8hr. work days 40 hr weeks overtime and all the other things that unions got for workers both member and non since the thirtys?

[Occulus]

27. Thank you!

You beat me to it.

[54anickel]

25. Not a Union guy are ya? That's OK. Lots of people have that same

feeling. Folks not in or somehow close to Unions only remember them as the corrupt Jimmy Hoffa, mafia, nasty Teamsters type. Their history is somewhat tainted. But then so are most organizations. That's what happens when things get off balance to one side or the other.

Right now, things are totally off balance in favor of big business. We have lots to be thankful to Unions for. The corporate types are hoping that those old stero-types of Unions continue to sway the opinions. So when you have organizations such as the AFL-CIO fighting the DOL changes to FLSA to eliminate OT, those people immediately disregard it as some Union thing - not to be trusted.

People need to look beyond their personal needs and beliefs and do a little digging around, understand the issue, and take a stand after evaluating both sides as unbiasedly as possible. Too often we jump to a decision from our own, sometimes self-centered reality. We are all part of a bigger community, like it or not. Isolation isn't an option.

[Clovis Sangrail]

28. they can't stop you from shopping

You can walk right across any picket line you want.
That's your right.

I'd be inclined to try to talk you out of crossing.
I'd try to explain that driving an extra 2-10 minutes to shop is a very very small price to pay to support the concept of unionized labor.


If that didn't work, I'd likely call you a worthless cowardly POS.
Hopefully in front of your kid or SO.

That's my right.

[Shakespeare]

30. There are other stores in the area to shop at besides the big 3

Nobody's being deprived of ANYTHING. So, instead of going to Ralph's or Pavilions, you go to Trader Joe's or Gelsons or Stater Brothers.

This fight is VERY important to all of us in the long term--what they're able to negotiate (or not) on healthcare benefits will ultimately affect what kind of benefits other non-union employers offer. I am 100 percent behind these guys, not just because they're right, but in my own self interest.

[54anickel]

34. Exactly! This is in everyones interest!

Even the big corp chain stores (long-term) they just don't see it.
:hi:

[4_Legs_Good]

32. As a SoCal resident, this strike is a pain,

BUUUUT, I can't even tell you how good it feels for me, as just Joe Average Consumer, to be helping out the workers by boycotting the chains.

I just spent 60 minutes shopping for Thanksgiving groceries in a health food store which was completely packed, so much so that they had 5-10 people in the parking lot directing traffic.

Way to go!!! I'm getting more pissed at the Grocery chains every day, and more impressed with the workers out there in the cold standing up for themselves! I just wish the Union were more active getting daily news out about how badly this is hurting the Grocery giants.

Keep it up!!

david

[NashVegas]

35. Maybe It's Time to Learn How To Cook

With dietary staples.

It'll be a good excercize for you and less processed sugar and other junk.

[0007]

36. You won't go hungry - but you may if big corprations give you slave wage..

[goforit]

29. I wonder how the gropinator is gonna handle this puppy?

Will the Unions become stronger in time?

They're dealing with the biggest mobster of all time....
and we all know who they are.

[Clovis Sangrail]

31. It's getting colder

in the mornings and the strike is dragging on.

This is about profitable corporations being able to screw employees.

Many of us pass by or near on of the strike sites everday, and it doesn't take long or cost much to bring them a dozen donuts (~=$4).

If you've got more time, get up early and bake them something.
(there's nothing like warm scones on a cold morning)

After this long, many are getting discouraged.

[4_Legs_Good]

33. Thanks for the tips...

I've wondered what more I could do for the strikers (short of paying their wages (wish I could afford that!)).

I'll see what I can do. I admire their (your?) perserverence!

david

[54anickel]

38. Check with their local. For Tyson here they have their own food pantry

and any $ donations are set aside for emergency loans to help with mortgage payments, doctor bills, etc.