With talks between the grocery workers union and Southern California's major supermarket chains dragging on, the union is trying to gain some leverage by reaching out to consumers.

 

JOHN GASTALDO / Union-Tribune Albertsons employee Debbie Rico showed her support for the union with a miniature, mock strike sign.

The United Food and Commercial Workers and other labor groups held a rally yesterday in Kearny Mesa and embarked on a door-to-door campaign designed to educate customers on the issues behind the contract negotiations.

Mickey Kasparian, who heads Local 135 of the UFCW in San Diego and Imperial counties, said the outreach efforts are part of the union's plan to increase pressure on the companies.

“We are continuing to take these steps so we can have as much leverage as we can at the bargaining table,” he said.

The UFCW and the three supermarket chains – Albertsons, Ralphs and Vons – have been negotiating on and off since January but have yet to come up with a new contract. The previous one was reached after a 4½-month strike and lockout three years ago.

It's unclear whether the union's outreach efforts will help pressure the chains into making concessions, said George Whalin, president of Retail Management Consultants in San Marcos.

Unlike in the past when unions had more pull, he said, today's consumer is more concerned with convenience than with the plight of the workers.

 

JOHN GASTALDO / Union-Tribune Secretary-treasurer Jerry Butkiewicz of the San Diego-Imperial Counties Labor Council kicked off a union rally in Kearny Mesa.

“By and large most Americans aren't that sympathetic,” he said. “Everyone lives their own lives and does their own thing.”

Adena Tessler, the spokeswoman for the three grocery store chains, said the rallies are patently unproductive.

“The companies are really disappointed that the union is continuing this kind of activity,” she said. “All this is going to do is frighten the employees and alarm consumers.”

Yesterday, a couple hundred union supporters gathered outside an Albertsons in Kearny Mesa chanting “Kids' health, not employers' wealth” to underscore a key point of contention between the two sides – health care and a two-tier wage system.

Similar events are scheduled for communities throughout Southern California.

Sara Dupuy, who has worked at Albertsons for 30 years, said the public must learn that grocery workers haven't had a raise in more than five years, forgoing those pay increases for better health benefits.

“These companies need to understand that we need the health benefits,” she said. “They think they can just dump on us like Wal-Mart.”

Dupuy said customers supported the grocery union during the strike three years ago and she expects that they will support the union again once they understand the issues more throughly.

“If they (the supermarkets) didn't learn it last time, they'll learn it this time,” she said. “The customers really came through for us.”

Harley Shaiken, a professor at the University of California Berkeley who specializes in labor, said the issues that grocery workers face – affordable health care and job security – resonate with the public at large.

“What the union is doing is saying, 'If we better our conditions, you get better service and you just might have a model that pulls up your salary and your benefits,” he said.

While Whalin was unsure whether the union's efforts would sway many consumers, he said that so far the union has done a better job than the companies of getting its message across.

He said the grocery chains need to emphasize the cost pressures they face.

“The economic reality is competitive, and all other types of forces have led to certain jobs paying less than they used to and that's certainly the case with the food business,” he said.

Still, no matter who wins the current public relations war, he said any good will either side might have curried would be gone if another strike occurs.

“Consumers would be upset,” he said. “But they'd be upset with everybody.”

Kent Wong, director of the UCLA Center for Labor Research and Education, said that with negotiations at an impasse, the union needs to try a number of strategies.

“Right now it is hard to see what's going to be the tipping point,” he said.