Shoppers "Grow Tired" Of Grocery Strike

[villager]

Shoppers Grow Tired Of Grocery Strike

IRVINE, Calif. -- Theresa Volk shopped at three different stores in the past week to get the groceries she needed before giving up and crossing a striking clerks' picket line.

"I've been going out of my way to go to stores. But I'm spending too much money going to all these different stores," Volk, 41, said as she walked past picketers at Ralphs with two shopping carts filled with groceries.

As the clerks' strike rolled through its second week with no new negotiations planned, many shoppers said they were frustrated by the lack of progress in contract talks and tired of running around town.

Clerks from three chains _ Kroger Co.'s Ralphs, Safeway Inc.'s Vons and Albertsons Inc. _ went on strike or were locked out of stores from San Luis Obispo to San Diego on Oct. 11 in a contract dispute involving health care and other issues.

<snip>


Volk said she saw a full-page newspaper ad taken out by the chains that said workers were being asked to pay $5 a week for individual health care coverage and $15 a week for families. Union officials have disputed the ad, saying workers would have to pay up to $95 a week by the end of the proposed three-year contract to maintain current coverage.



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[Clete]

1. They are in the minority.

I live in freeperville and the parking lot at my local Ralph's was almost empty today, when I went down to pick up a newspaper (at another store). This has got to be hurting the market chains, because most people do their shopping on Saturday morning.

[villager]

3. I hope you're right...

...hate to think the corporadoes will win by wearing the public down, but really, is everyone really viewing this as their own stand against eroding benefits, etc.?

[Clovis Sangrail]

10. a minority, but a growing one

I live next to an Albertson's, and the lot is a graveyard compared to normal... but it's not as empty as it was last week.

I think a lot of people are being swayed by the full page ads the stores have taken out slamming the union. (I know of 2)
The MTA must think that it's working, because I heard an ad from them this morning slamming the mechanics union (also on strike).

---
If anybody here in socal supports the UFCW, do something to show it.
Swing by a store in the morning with a dozen donuts for the strikers.
It's quick, it'll only cost $5 and it'll make you and them feel good.

[maggrwaggr]

11. those poor bastards are on the picket lines 24 hours a day

I drove past the 24-hour Vons and Ralphs late last night and realized they're there for all three shifts.

Man. They're dedicated.

I give them a honk every time I drive by.

[villager]

15. I honk, too

Sometimes, they scarcely notice, sometimes they hoist their signs and wave back... Wonder how long they can keep going on their side?

[E_Zapata]

2. Let's do the real math.......

$95 a week is $400+ a month - that's a chunk of change.

Oh, not till the end of the 3 year contract? Well, what will year 4 hold for them? We have to support the unions - they are the only things that offer any remote chance of maintaining any standard of living for anyone. It isn't like Congress is going to protect labor!

and that stupid woman....ever heard of stocking up on food? Like maybe make a lot of BEANS and other staples. Do the kiddies really have to have a variety of juice boxes every single day? sheesh.

[villager]

4. right --

-people could take this as an opportunity to look at their food consumption, why they "need" certain products from the chains, etc...

[Desertrose]

5. an opportunity to look at how & what we buy

maybe we need to rethink this among other things.....

Peace
DR

DK will stand up for the workers...he is the ONLY card carrying Union member running for office!!

[villager]

6. just on a campaign note...

...since you brought it up, Dean Corps folks have been going to walk with the picketers in various shifts...

All the Dems, though, should make clear their support for this -- and all the inevitable upcoming -- strikes...

[BiggJawn]

14. Yes, the kiddies have to have their variety of microwave FUN meals!

They don't drink "juice" boxes, not enough caffeine in them.

What do expect her to DO with "staples"? Hell, to her, microwave pre-prepared sodium-choked "foods" ARE staples, since she couldn't boil water to save herself.

Her mom believed "I don't care about hormones in my food, so long as my lettuce is CRISP..."

[maggrwaggr]

7. It's not the food that you need at these stores so much

As it is the other stuff. Dishwashing soap, diapers, almost ALL baby stuff .....

My wife needed to buy food coloring for our kid's school project the other day and couldn't find it anywhere. She was tempted to go to Ralphs or Vons just to buy that because she couldn't find it anywhere else.

It's that kind of thing that gets in the way.

But to blame the strikers is idiotic. I blame Kroger's and Albertson's. They're the ones being the assholes here.

[villager]

13. there is a "convenience" factor...

...to a degree, though drug stores can fill in for a lot of the "non grocery" items... heck, it's been a lot tougher getting the chocolate chip ice cream my son craves!

But this is how we kick in to the kitty, as it were, to support the strikers, que no?

[Padraig18]

17. Get that stuff at the dollar store, or a variety store. n/t

[aquart]

8. My sister and her husband will not cross the picket line.

No matter how long it takes.

[FDRrocks]

9. Grow tired! UGH!!!

Screw these people... really. Disgusting. Any person who supports the right of collectively bargaining would not break a picket line due to lack of convenience.

[solinvictus]

12. Strike

This fight is about all of us, not just them. If you live near them, support them as much as possible. Here in Tennessee, there are no unions as a lot of the traditionally organized jobs are either gone or taken up by illegal immigrants. Wally World is on the expansion here too, which is another factor causing low wages.

[gulliver]

16. In STL, the parties went back to the bargaining table ...

... a couple of days ago.

I'm hoping it means the strike against Dierbergs, Schucks, and Shop n' Save is about at an end. Those stores don't exist for our family while the picket lines are there.

I heard a news report on local TV last week that said people were literally flocking to other stores. Also, every time I pass the pickets I wave, and I notice that lots of people are doing the same. (The picketers "waving" muscles must be getting sore from waving back.)

[leesa]

18. I have a co-worker who describes herself as a liberal, but never really

does anything, who said she needed to cross the picket line because Vons was the only store that carried the brand of flavored water she HAD to have.