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SAN DIEGO (June 30, 2006) — The president of UFCW Local 135 in San Diego hailed today’s plea agreement between Ralphs Grocery Company and federal prosecutors.

In the agreement filed today in United States District Court, Ralphs admits that it illegally hired back hundreds of locked-out workers under false names and Social Security numbers during the 20-week Southern California strike and lockout of 2003-2004. These criminal actions improperly extended the duration of the labor dispute, causing severe financial hardship to the UFCW Local Unions and their members.

The company agreed to pay $20 million in fines to the federal government and millions more in restitution to about 17,000 Ralphs employees who did not cross picket lines to work.

If the plea agreement is approved by a federal judge, a total of $70 million will be paid out by Ralphs, making it the largest settlement of its kind in the history of labor unions.

In a statement released today, President Mickey Kasparian said the plea agreement constituted “an historic moment.”

President Kasparian noted that the Unions presented overwhelming evidence of Ralphs’ criminal behavior to the United States Department of Justice, seeking its help in bringing the company to justice. Federal prosecutors agreed to pursue the case, which was set to go to trial in August.

“This unprecedented plea agreement is a victory for workers everywhere because it sends a message to all companies that they are not above the law,” Kasparian said.
 

(Full text of the statement is attached to this press release.)

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