SHOP AND AWE

Saturday afternoon from 4 PM to 6 PM, seventeen supporters of the strikers entered the Pavilions supermarket at Santa Monica Blvd and San Vincente and started “shopping.” In protest, they filled their carts to the brim with groceries. They got them bagged, and walk away without them and without paying for them.

The goal of the action was to put chaos in the store, and chaos there was. The clerks had to void all the 17 carts full of groceries, and they have to reshelf everything items back on the shelves. It take 12 minutes to check out a cart full of groceries. To void all the items in the same cart, it takes also 12 minutes. To reshelf the groceries, it takes one hour and a half, totalling 1 hour and 54 minutes of wasting time for the supermarket.

We need to “shop” more often at Vons Albertsons, and Pavilions. Make the supermarkets suffer, since they don’t care about the suffering of the strikers and their family.

The action started at 4 PM and ended at 6 PM

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The "Shop and Awe" stopped at 6 PM

I commend whoever did this!

Now just imagine if hundreds of people each week went into these supermarkets to just fill up shopping carts with food items only to leave all of them in aisles throughout the store .

Three things would happen:

1) The scabs the supermarkets hired would spend more of their time having to re-stock food items instead of performing other duties.

2) Some of the food items in the carts would end up becoming spoiled or be damaged as the scabs re-stocked them.

3) Customers won't find food items they want on the shelves because some of them would be stuck in those shopping carts.

If done by mass numbers of people, these actions would affect the ability of these supermarkets to operate profitably.

"If done by mass numbers of people, these actions would affect the ability of these supermarkets to operate profitably. "

Yeah, then once they really start losing money they'll be truly ready to pay even more for the health benefits of these lazy, uneducated and greedy strikers. Sounds like a great plan.

I think it s a great action, and it s not made to shut down the business: I t reminds the owners (and stockholders if any) that the health of their human employees counts as much as the health of their business.
(If they were any normal, they would already understand that these people matter most.)
People is the center of the system, and I wish human beeing had more importance that big bucks.
to Fresca:You have to be rich to go to the university in the US. If you have to do a shity job, at least try to make it different than slavery: this is not the middle age anymore, and they are not peons under ruling of a merciless king. These people have a right to strike, its a fondamental freedom.

"You have to be rich to go to the university in the US."

No, you don't. There are BILLIONS of dollars available as low-interest government-guaranteed loans and outright grants for people who cannot afford college on their own.

Now, what other completely wrong ideas do you have about America?

So you think the public should support your latest efforts to extort money/benefits (same thing) from you employer by packing carts and leaving the food to spoil? You are truly more ignorant and out of touch than I thought. Here is a clue. Quit this job that you decided to walk off and find another one. We (the majority of the public) are sick of your shit, sick of your tactics and most of all sick of you, If you don't like it QUIT QUIT QUIT GO AWAY!!!!!!

So you think the public should support your latest efforts to extort money/benefits (same thing) from you employer by packing carts and leaving the food to spoil? You are truly more ignorant and out of touch than I thought. Here is a clue. Quit this job that you decided to walk off and find another one. We (the majority of the public) are sick of your shit, sick of your tactics and most of all sick of you, If you don't like it QUIT QUIT QUIT GO AWAY!!!!!!

It wasn't the workers doing this. The workers are not allowed into the stores, and the union won't let them do actions like this.

It's customers doing this to hassle the management, and to send a clear signal that they support the workers and not the owners.

To say this is "extortion" is hyperbole. It's just a minor irritation to the company. The effect is more psychological than anything else. It costs probably $40 a cart to put things back on the shelf.

Firstly, no one destroyed any goods, so don't go lying. You look bad enough without that.

Secondly, one of the founding moments of this nation came when boxes of a highly valuable commodity, tea, were dumped into the water by people protesting. If _you_ don't like the spirit of democracy and self-sufficiency demonstrated by the strikers then why don't _you_ leave and go to some fascist country where people don't get paid decent wages.

I'm not a grocery store employee, nor are my relatives or immediate friends but I support them 100%. VONS is much easier for me to shop at than anywhere else but I've adjusted to shopping at other stores.

Good luck to all the strikers. Remember you'll win with our support, just like the UPS strikers did.

People say find another job, but for the vast majority of people, the market has little to offer besides low benefits, and day slavery generally.

Without labor, capital is nothing-no money to invest, and critically, no production of wealth. It's time that workers take control of the wealth they have created. Withdrawing our labor and respecting the picket lines will remind capitalists and workers who has the greatest power in this relationship.

As for "shopping", it should be up to the workers. If they feel it's okay, then go for it.

Oh please spare me about what the union does and does not allow. Do they "allow" the picketer to vandalize the "scab" cars? Of course they don't allow it ...wink wink. The union demonstrates with actions what it condones not words.

yes, all scab cars should be vandalized...as well as those who cross picket lines.

choose your side...corporate hegemony or the people before profits.

if you are a scab, you may want to consider walking to your job in disguise, because you should also be pelted with eggs and tomatoes.

class war

"choose your side...corporate hegemony or the people before profits."

Did you actually write this?

Christ! What a fucking moron.

Beyond the embarrassingly innacurate and silly use of the word hegemony, where the hell do you think jobs come from but from companies who turn profits.

Are you actually that fucking stupid.

You are aren't you?

You are actually clinically an imbecile.

Well that about what I expected from one of these union mopes. I cannot wait until the store breaks this extortionist union and fires their asses. Then they can work for their new "Scab" managers if they decide to hire them back. (fat chance of that) ....oh that's Mr. Scab to you class war

Thats funny this capitalist scabbard...here talkin shit..sounds to me like he signed the waiver relinquishing his union past. So i See we've chosen the path of cowards. Bow and crawl for the crumbs they spit out. I wonder if these scabs think there gona Always get "paid" this well. Im gona laugh my ass off when You get tossed out. Face it ....you 're just caught in the middle....you're liek a whore.. Its UNION Power brother.

Im smell rotten scabbage in the Aisles .....STuck Capitalist wench.

We will see who bets booted out on their ass. You Union sheep will be led to slaughter and I will be your new boss. Start practicing....say yes boss scab...yes boss scab.....i'm shaking it boss the union can't help me now

I was a strong supporter of the strike until my wife and I both received unsolicited text messages on our cell phones from the union asking us to support the strike--AT 3:00AM!!!! If they are going to invade my privacy and use such inconsiderate tactics, I say screw them!

Not allowed by the workers? The San Diego Independent Media Center (SDIMC) who is promoting this strongly suggests you ask the picket captain if they mind (none has they claim). Sounds like the union people are condoning civil disobedience AND malicious mischief.

What happens if this new tactic is highly successful? The stores lose more money, more customer base, and profitability when the strike ends. The companies are already estimating a 25% loss in revenue and that means 25% fewer jobs. Take a look at the picketers and see if you can tell which 1 out of 4 will be jobless thanks to all of your efforts. Classic example of cutting off your nose to spite your face.

The strike is not just about the workers, it's also about the survivability of the companies. The union mentality that companies are big entities that owe them forget that profitability is what enables them to pay the ridiculous benefits they receive.

The companies are estimating a 25% reduction in revenue when the strike ends. Look down the picket line and see if you can pick out the 1 in 4 who won't have a job when this is all over.

Shop and Awe will just add to that percentage. Also, what these people are doing in "support" of the picketers is not only civil disobedience and malicious mischief, the success of these actions will result in more of the picketers not having a job when it's all over.

No job = No wages = No benefits = LOSE!