Radio WBAI’s Building Bridges:

Your Community & Labor Report

Produced & Hosted by Mimi Rosenberg & Ken Nash

Presents

************************************************************Fighting for AMERICA’S HEALTH CARE vs

Corporate Greed —

The Southern California Supermarket Strike/Lockout

Over 70,000 workers at Vons (Safeway), Ralph’s (Kroger), & Albertson’s voted overwhelming to fight these employers’ demands to effectively eliminate health benefits. On 10/11 workers struck

Vons across Southern California. Albertson’s and Ralph’s then locked then out their workers. The employers’ proposal will take away any meaningful health care benefits for all new hires & create

a funding crisis that will lead to the elimination of existing benefits for current workers. Workers make an average of .50 an hour — about ,000/yr.

The supermarket giants are not responding to competitive pressure from Wal-Mart. The 3 chains have 60% of the market in So. California. Even with its planned expansion, Wal-Mart will have only 1% of the market . Safeway is the strike target because the

company and its CEO Steve Burd have led the attack on workers and their health benefits. Burd said that forcing So. California workers on strike was an “investment in the future.” Safeway,

Ralph’s and Albertson’s are Fortune 50 corporations. Their profits have gone up 91% since ‘98. If these corporate giants can eliminate health care, every worker is at risk. The strikers are fighting not

only for all Safeway workers, but and ultimately all workers who face corporate demands to cut and gut benefits.

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Building Bridges is regularly broadcast over WBAI, 99.5 FM in the NYC area on MOndays from 4-5 pm PT

streaming at http://www.2600.com/offthehook/hot2.ram