The union, which has been working under day-to-day contract extensions since March, said Tuesday that talks with the three major Southern California grocery chains were going nowhere.

But yesterday union leaders said they would rather go back to the bargaining table than risk repeating the bitter strike of three years ago that kept members off the job for 4½ months.

“We've decided that it is just too much of a hardship for the community and for our members,” said Mike Shimpock, spokesman for the United Food and Commercial Workers union.

In a statement, the supermarket chains – Albertsons, Ralphs and Vons – said they remain committed to the negotiation process, calling the union's earlier decision to break off talks a counterproductive ploy.

“The employers continue to be willing to meet regularly and often until an agreement is reached,” the statement read. “However, the unions need to stay engaged in bargaining and suspend the media stunts that upset our employees and our customers and distract attention away from the bargaining table.”

The UFCW and the supermarket chains have been trying to come up with a new contract since January. The original contract expired March 5, but the two sides agreed to day-to-day extensions in April.

Under that agreement, either side must give 72 hours' notice to cancel the contract.

UFCW members employed at Albertsons have voted to give the union leaders the right to call a strike against that chain, and the supermarkets have agreed to lock out all union members if the union strikes any of the chains.

The current contract, which ended the bitter 4½ month strike three years ago, covers 65,000 Albertsons, Ralphs and Vons employees. Those three chains account for about 50 percent of the grocery business in Southern California.

Shimpock said the union negotiators felt they had to break off negotiations on Tuesday because the chains' last proposal was a step backward, with the supermarkets offering to pay 50 percent less for health care than they do under the current contract. He said if the proposal were put in place, it would bankrupt the benefit system.

“That wasn't a proposal,” he said. “It was a time bomb.”

In their statement, the chains said they are looking for a way to temper the effects of soaring health care costs, as are many other businesses.

“Everyone is looking for ways to control costs and share responsibility, whether through employee contributions, preventive health care or other creative solutions,” the statement said.

But Shimpock likened the latest proposal to buying a house and “having them grab the closing papers out of your hands, scratching out the price and doubling it, and handing it back to you.”

While the union plans to go back to the bargaining table, Shimpock said it also is ramping up its outreach efforts to consumers. Starting next week, UFCW members will be canvassing neighborhoods near the various grocery chains to explain their side of the story.

Also, a number of rallies are planned in the Los Angeles area, including one that will highlight the number of children who no longer have health care coverage because of the way the last contract was designed.

That contract instituted a two-tier system, with a different wage and benefit scale for those hired after the strike.

Kent Wong, director of the UCLA Center for Labor Research and Education, said the union needs to bolster its backing from the community, which was crucial during the last strike.