As I write this, 70,000 supermarket workers are on strike from
three different companies. It started when Vons/Pavilion attempted
to push the new contract that sliced away the healthcare and pension so
the workers union, the UFCW rejected the contract and went on strike to bargain for the same wages and benefits as what existed before. But the
next step in this attack shows how malicious our system can be. Albertsons
and Ralph’s, two big supermarkets showed their corporate
solidarity with Vons by locking out there workers because “a strike against one is a strike against all.” This forced the UFCW to expand the strike and raise
the stakes to higher level. The same struggle is now taking
place at Albertson’s and Ralph’s where the workers are being threatened
by losing their health care, pension and new workers will be at a lower wage. The union estimates that the lockout by the two employers exceeds
$600 million. On the news every night, we hear these
representatives of supermarkets victimizing themselves saying how the workers
only have to pay $15 dollars a week for health insurance instead of $5,
which is a lie. The workers will have to pay $75 a month for prescription coverage, they would lose dental and optical coverage and hospital stays
and chemotherapy will be covered to a less degree. Overall the
union states that the health care will be cut in about half. The companies want to shift almost a billion dollars in health care costs onto the workers. This all potentially adds thousands of dollars to the to the
medical bills of the workers who average $12-14 dollars an hour and average $312 a week.
> >The companies cry about how they have to cut costs to succefully compete with Wallmart and other super-big stores that are spreading
like cancer. But Ralph’s, Albertson’s and Vons, the poor victims of the market, have made an accumulative 1.6 billion dollars last year in profit,
and the Kroger co. which owns Ralph’s and Safeway made 5 billion in sales last year. These supermarkets control 60% of the southern
California market and their sales and profit have consistently have been going
up. The operating profits of these companies have increased from 5.1
to 9.7billion from 1998 to 2002 and the general profit has gone up 91% percent the last 5 years. The claim that Wal-Mart will out compete these stores is not realistic for the simple reason that Wal-Mart is not a
supermarket and doesn’t offer the variety that these
supermarkets offer.Wal-Mart says in the next period they will capture only 1% of
the food and grocery market in California. These poor victims also have
an interesting amount of capital at their disposal. Albertson’s, used half a million dollars on just preparing for the strike which activity like flying in scabs from other states and paying them more than
regular workers just to keep the store going during the strike. While the Kroger co., which owns Ralph’s and Safeway, also has 27 million dollars in stock and the CEO himself has 6.2 million in shares. This it self
would enough to pay for a large portion of the workers health care.
The general sentiment of the workers at the supermarkets has been very
militant and optimistic. Many different workers have
personally told me that they will strike as long as it takes. All of them find the new contracts appalling and detrimental to the well being of the work force. Watching the cars role in, the strikers would tell each person that the customer should respect the picket line and shop somewhere else. Some people would have a curiosity and listen to the workers and
then shop somewhere else. Others would not listen and go in. But the general business has fallen around 75% and I also noticed the majority of the people crossing the picket had a nice Mercedes or a new SUV, showing that the middle and upper middle class customers have the strongest impulse to cross the picket.
Pat, who was interviewed by www.wsws.org and works in the bakery department, said, “The top people in this company aremaking so much money, and were not even asking for a pay raise.” She continued and a said, “the scabs are getting paid $19 an hour. After 11
years, I get about $12. Their hotel and food are also being paid for. The company hired one gal who came here with her husband from Washington State. She had no ideas that we were on strike. They didn’t tell her. She ended up walking out, saying she wouldn’t dare cross the picket line.”
> >
> This is the sentiment that we need to support. If these strikes fail, it will give a green light to other business around the country that they should cut the health insurance to and make the workers pay
for but if the strike wins, it will show that the bosses shouldn’t get too greedy because the workers will strike back. We have started a committee in the
Los Angeles area to support the strikes in order to bring people to the picket, raise money, distribute a petition and get media support. The more the general population is involved the more the workers
have a chance in winning. If the strike wins, everyone will gain a real life experience in winning a struggle and gaining confidence in making social change. These are the lessons that people should learn in
times of such reaction and conservativism, that change is possible, but it is up to us to make that change.
People can join LASSO and help win the strike to show the corporate elities that this not acceptable and the workers will struggle for justice.
backlasso@hotmail.com > > Javier