Area grocers, union stock up for a fightBy Dale Kasler -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PDT Sunday, June 13, 2004
Barely three months after a devastating strike ended in Southern California, the supermarket industry's labor wars are coming to Sacramento. They could produce one of the most contentious labor negotiations the region has seen.
The stakes are enormous: A historic restructuring is taking place at supermarkets across the United States, with low-cost and non-union operators such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Costco Wholesale Corp. grabbing chunks of market share from the traditional, unionized supermarket chains. To regain their competitive footing, the chains have been demanding contract concessions - and mostly succeeding.
In city after city, workers have given back portions of benefits - particularly in health care - and agreed to controversial two-tier contracts that relegate new hires to a lower status. Although the givebacks have been modest in some cities, labor has been forced to play defense, struggling to preserve what traditionally has been a middle-class occupation.
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