LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Thousands of grocery workers across Southern California began voting today on whether to authorize their union to call a strike amid continued contract negotiations with the owners of stores including Ralphs and Vons/Pavilions/Albertsons. Â
Officials with the United Food and Commercial Workers union said votes will be cast over several days, with results expected to be announced Sunday. A ``yes'' vote would not automatically result in a strike. It would only authorize the union to call one if no progress is made in labor negotiations. Â
Roughly 47,000 workers represented by seven UFCW union locals between Central California and the Mexico border will be casting ballots. The membership covers workers at more than 500 stores. Â
Union officials announced earlier this month that contract talks had stalled. A three-year-old labor contract between the unionized grocery workers and Southern California supermarkets expired March 7, raising fears of a possible strike. Â
``Bargaining committees composed of front-line grocery workers and union leaders came prepared with proposals that would fairly increase wages and improve store conditions to reflect the needs of workers in a pandemic and post- pandemic world,'' the union said in a statement earlier this month announced a stall in labor talks. ``The corporations representing the stores offered pennies, a proposal that would ultimately be a pay cut due to inflation.''Â Â
Ralphs responded with a statement noting that ``a strike authorization vote doesn't mean a strike will happen, but it does create unnecessary concern for our associates and communities, at a time when we should be coming together in good faith bargaining to find solutions and compromise. At Ralphs we remain focused on settling a deal with the UFCW.''Â Â
``We have three very clear objectives; to put more money in our associates paychecks, keep groceries affordable for our customers and to maintain a sustainable future for our business,'' according to Ralphs. ``By working together, we win together.''Â Â
Grocery employees are continuing to work under the terms of the previous contract. Â
Ralphs issued a statement Sunday indicating additional negotiations were planned to resume March 30. According to the company, its latest proposal includes investments in wages of more than $141 million over the next three years, while not increasing healthcare costs for associates. Â
``We will continue to do everything we can to balance investments in wages and overall well-being of associates while keeping food affordable for our customers,'' Robert Branton, vice president of operations at Ralphs, said in the statement. ``Our current offer adds to our associates' paychecks, while providing them with premium healthcare coverage and a company funded pension -- which many of our competitors do not offer.''Â Â
Ralphs says it pays an average hourly wage of $19 an hour, with more than half of associates having been with the company for more than 10 years, and more than one-third having been with Ralphs for more than 20 years. Ralphs also provides healthcare benefits and a pension for retired associates. Â
``Ralphs has always been and continues to be a workplace where our associates come for a job and stay for a career,'' Branton said. Â
Union officials said they are seeking a $5-per-hour wage hike, along with bolstered safety standards and ``adequate scheduling and hours.'' According to the union, the grocery stores offered only a 60-cent-per-hour wage increase. Â
``Frontline grocery store workers continue to bear the brunt of the COVID pandemic and post-pandemic effects,'' according to the union. ``More than 10,000 UFCW 770 employees have been infected with COVID, many more lost co- workers, friends and family members. Supermarket employees are overworked, underpaid and undervalued while grocery companies stack huge earnings -- Kroger alone made $4 billion in profits in 2021.''Â Â
In 2003-04, Southland grocery store workers walked off the job over a contract dispute, and the strike lasted 141 days. That work stoppage was estimated by some analysts to have cost the supermarket chains as much as $2 billion, with the workers losing $300 million in wages. Â
During the last round of negotiations in 2019, grocery workers voted to authorize a strike but negotiations continued for two months, and a labor deal was eventually reached, averting a walkout.