Citywide Coalition Praises Grocery Worker Deal
Labor Desk
July 24, 2007
Alliance That Rallied Behind Supermarket Workers Says Contract Will Save Middle Class Jobs and Strengthen Communities.
Los Angeles — A citywide coalition that helped build public support for grocery workers over the past six months today applauded a new contract overwhelmingly ratified over the weekend, saying that the deal would strengthen communities and preserve middle class jobs in one of the region’s largest industries.
The new four-year contract, which covers 65,000 workers at Ralphs, Albertsons, Vons and Pavilions stores from Bakersfield to the Mexican border, eliminates the two-tier wage structure, provides wage increases, improves the health care eligibility and benefits and protects retirement benefits. Thousands of grocery workers voted to ratify the contract at 25 locations across Southern California. The atmosphere at voting locations was one of celebration and relief.
"This is an important victory not only for grocery workers and their families, but for communities throughout Southern California that depend on good jobs," said Pastor Bridie Roberts, acting deputy director of Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice (CLUE), one of numerous organizations that rallied behind grocery workers. "The community stood with these workers because it was the right thing to do, and because we know that restoring quality jobs in the grocery industry is critical to the future of our region's middle class."
Grocery workers expressed gratitude to the public for rallying behind them.
The support we received from the community was tremendous, and helped give us the courage to continue fighting for a fair deal,” said Sharlette Villacorta, a longtime Albertsons employee. “We know that the display of public support affected our employers and made a critical difference in the outcome.”
In the fall of 2006, more than 20 organizations across the city came together to form the Los Angeles Grocery Worker and Community Health Coalition. The alliance of community, labor and faith-based organizations is dedicated to ensuring that the grocery industry continues to be a source of stable, middle-class employment, and that the industry serves the needs of residents in all parts of the city.
This was a cause that resonated with people from all walks of life,” said Raena Banks-Neal, a community organizer with LAANE. “People supported the workers because they understood that they were fighting for respect, fairness and basic human dignity.”
In January, the Coalition sponsored a public hearing headed by a blue ribbon commission of civic leaders to examine declining job standards in the grocery industry. Two months later, the Commission released a report calling for the restoration of equity among grocery workers and an end to the sharp drop in health care coverage.
Over the past several months, the Coalition reached out to churches, block clubs and residents throughout the city, helping to generate broad public support for a fair resolution to the grocery contract negotiations. The Coalition also worked with the L.A. Alliance for a New Economy (LAANE) and filmmaker Robert Greenwald’s Brave New Films on an Internet video campaign about the grocery workers that reached more than 100,000 consumers.
Coalition leaders praised the courage and tenacity of grocery workers, and also gave credit to Ralphs, Albertsons and Vons for doing the right thing.
This is a great victory because it will benefit workers, communities, business and the public,” said Pastor Roberts. “Let us hope that it becomes a model as we strive to create an economy that rewards hard work and honors the values of fairness, responsibility, dignity and respect.”
Los Angeles — A citywide coalition that helped build public support for grocery workers over the past six months today applauded a new contract overwhelmingly ratified over the weekend, saying that the deal would strengthen communities and preserve middle class jobs in one of the region’s largest industries.
The new four-year contract, which covers 65,000 workers at Ralphs, Albertsons, Vons and Pavilions stores from Bakersfield to the Mexican border, eliminates the two-tier wage structure, provides wage increases, improves the health care eligibility and benefits and protects retirement benefits. Thousands of grocery workers voted to ratify the contract at 25 locations across Southern California. The atmosphere at voting locations was one of celebration and relief.
"This is an important victory not only for grocery workers and their families, but for communities throughout Southern California that depend on good jobs," said Pastor Bridie Roberts, acting deputy director of Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice (CLUE), one of numerous organizations that rallied behind grocery workers. "The community stood with these workers because it was the right thing to do, and because we know that restoring quality jobs in the grocery industry is critical to the future of our region's middle class."
Grocery workers expressed gratitude to the public for rallying behind them.
The support we received from the community was tremendous, and helped give us the courage to continue fighting for a fair deal,” said Sharlette Villacorta, a longtime Albertsons employee. “We know that the display of public support affected our employers and made a critical difference in the outcome.”
In the fall of 2006, more than 20 organizations across the city came together to form the Los Angeles Grocery Worker and Community Health Coalition. The alliance of community, labor and faith-based organizations is dedicated to ensuring that the grocery industry continues to be a source of stable, middle-class employment, and that the industry serves the needs of residents in all parts of the city.
This was a cause that resonated with people from all walks of life,” said Raena Banks-Neal, a community organizer with LAANE. “People supported the workers because they understood that they were fighting for respect, fairness and basic human dignity.”
In January, the Coalition sponsored a public hearing headed by a blue ribbon commission of civic leaders to examine declining job standards in the grocery industry. Two months later, the Commission released a report calling for the restoration of equity among grocery workers and an end to the sharp drop in health care coverage.
Over the past several months, the Coalition reached out to churches, block clubs and residents throughout the city, helping to generate broad public support for a fair resolution to the grocery contract negotiations. The Coalition also worked with the L.A. Alliance for a New Economy (LAANE) and filmmaker Robert Greenwald’s Brave New Films on an Internet video campaign about the grocery workers that reached more than 100,000 consumers.
Coalition leaders praised the courage and tenacity of grocery workers, and also gave credit to Ralphs, Albertsons and Vons for doing the right thing.
This is a great victory because it will benefit workers, communities, business and the public,” said Pastor Roberts. “Let us hope that it becomes a model as we strive to create an economy that rewards hard work and honors the values of fairness, responsibility, dignity and respect.”
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