Gocery and department store workers in northern California will join a rally in Pleasanton today (29 March) in protest against cuts being made to wages and health care.
The United Food and Commercial Workers union Local 5 has organised the protest as it continues its efforts to stop companies, including Safeway Inc, Raley’s and Save Mart, from reducing terms and conditions in collective labour agreements. Members in Local 5’s grocery division have been trying to come to reach an agreement with their employers over wages and benefits since their contract expired in October.
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However, the union claimed these efforts have been “stymied by management’s emphatic demands for massive takeaways in working conditions, pay rates and medical benefits” for active and retired staff.
“Northern California grocery workers are some of the hardest working people in the country. Every benefit they have earned over the years has been hard won. We want to let the public know that if the companies think they can slash the wages and medical benefits for active members and retirees without a fight they are wrong,” said United Food and Commercial Workers Local 5 president Ron Lind.
On Tuesday, Safeway issued an announcement to insist its contributions to its pension plans were “manageable” after questions from investors. The retailer said its share of the underfunding of the plans stood at around $1.88bn. However, it said that amount had fallen in recent years and added it did expect any “material” increase in annual contributions.
“The underfunded liability is expected to be further reduced over time through collective bargaining, increased market returns or other actions taken by plan trustees,” it said.
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By GlobalDataLast year’s contribution was $263m, which was up from $240m in 2008 and equated to 5% of last year’s retail employee costs.
In a statement today, the retailer said it has reached a “tentative agreements for new collective bargaining agreements with UFCW Locals 27 and 400” [union].
“The agreements cover employees in Safeway’s Maryland, Virginia and Washington, DC area stores. The local unions will be presenting the tentative agreements to the company’s employees covered by the agreements for ratification at meetings to be scheduled by the unions,” the company said.
