Workers at the Albertsons, Pavilion, Ralph and Bonds grocery stores will begin preparing for the strike Thursday.
According to the Union, 770 members of the United Food Workers Union will take part in sign-making sessions and hold a Pickett Captains meeting at Union Headquarters in Koreatown.
The union, which represents around 45,000 workers at four Southern California stores, announced Wednesday that its members had voted overwhelmingly to approve the strike.
“Our message is clear. We’re tired of the tactics of building unions of these companies designed to threaten us and prevent us from winning the fair contracts we get and deserve.”
“For four months, we have been negotiating with Kroger and Albertsons to provide solutions to the staff shortage crisis that undermine store operations, working conditions and customer service. The companies have rejected our proposal, claiming that our concerns are “anecdote” and downplaying the real challenges we and our customers face every day.
“At the same time, companies have broken labor laws by engaging in interrogating members in retaliation for illegal surveillance, actions, threats and union activities. This is unacceptable,” the statement continued.
“…This strike approval voucher means that businesses will return to the negotiation table, negotiate transactions that work for everyone, and hope they will stop illegal tactics before attacking the Picket Line.”
The number of votes has not been announced. The vote was taken in the first two weeks of June, according to the union.
There was no immediate response to an email sent to the Albertsons on Wednesday night. The Albertsons, the parent company of Pavilions and Bons and the parent company of Ralphs, Kroger, also has been contacted for comment.
Negotiations are scheduled to resume on June 25th, according to the union. The worker’s contract expired on March 2nd.
The union said it wanted “living wages, affordable medical benefits, reliable pensions (and better working conditions for more staffing, better customer experience).
A strike approval voucher does not necessarily mean that a strike will occur.
Members approved a three-year contract in 2022 after a threatened strike. This includes wage increases of $4.25 an hour for most workers, but some categories have received higher wage increases.
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