Why 48,000 California Grocery Workers Authorized A Strike

Over 48,000 California unionized grocery workers have voted to strike in a bid for higher wages and better working conditions. Members of 7 UFCW locals across 540 stores from the Mexican border to Central California approved the strike authorization by a margin of 95%, signaling that thousands of grocery workers are ready to walk out.

Union contracts at Kroger and Albertson’s banners, including Ralph’s, Von’s and Pavilions, expired as of March 6th. Negotiations have been ongoing since January, with workers pushing to earn higher wages, better schedules for part-time workers and improved health and safety conditions as the pandemic continues; thousands of unionized grocery workers fell ill from Covid-19 and hundreds died. The union proposals include a $5 per hour raise over 3 years, while the companies have offered $1.80 and rejected proposals to improve worker safety and minimum guarantees of staffing.

California Kroger division Ralph’s has stated that the union’s proposal was unrealistic due to the cost of doing business in California, including a $133 million annual health care program. Kroger sales topped $132 billion in 2021 with over $4 billion in profits, including $1.3 billion in shareholder buybacks. Kroger’s CEO took home over $20 million in compensation in 2021, nearly 1,000 times the wages of many workers. Meanwhile, a recent study called “Hungry at the Table” showed that 75% of Kroger workers struggled to feed their families and 14% of workers experienced homelessness.

The California strike authorization comes during a wave of food worker uprisings, as retail clerks, baristas and manufacturing workers evaluate what it means to be called essential in jobs that treat them as expendable. Cereal and snack workers won campaigns at Kellogg’s and Nabisco facilities, while poultry workers organized in Texas and Arkansas. Union campaigns have brewed at over 150 Starbucks locations and fulfillment workers have walked out at Amazon facilities. A recent strike victory by UFCW clerks in Colorado gave 8,000 grocery workers their best contract in a generation, including hourly raises of $2.00 to $5.99, higher investments in health care, as well as addressing a controversial two-tiered pay structure.

All the while, the food industry reels from two years of supply chain disruptions and spiraling inflation, driven by food conglomerate profiteering and exacerbated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Higher food costs have been compounded by declining living standards as housing, fuel and other basic necessities get more expensive. For Southern California retail workers, costs of living are among the highest in the U.S., with a livable wage of over $57,000 annually for individuals and over $70,000 annually for families with children.

The strike authorization by California grocery workers hearkens back to the 5 month long grocery strike in 2003 and 2004. Grocery chains such as Kroger, Safeway and Albertson’s successfully pushed to slash wages, benefits and living standards of a generation of grocery workers. This time, the union has filed an “unfair labor practice” (ULP) claim with the National Labor Relations Board. According to UFCW 770, the ULP charges include intimidation, harassment, and surveillance of workers, refusals to implement contractual wage increases, doling out bonuses during wage negotiations, and subcontracting work to non-union companies. The grocery chains have denied the allegations.

Albertson’s released a statement on Sunday March 27th saying, "The outcome of the strike authorization vote does not change anything related to this process. We remain committed to negotiating a contract that is fair to all parties, including our employees, and will continue to work to achieve that." Ralph’s had previously stated in the Los Angeles Times that the vote creates "unnecessary concern for our associates and communities, at a time when we should be coming together in good faith bargaining to find solutions and compromise. At Ralphs, we remain focused on settling a deal with the UFCW."

“Grocery workers are essential,” said John Grant, president of Local 770. “They’re not easily replaceable given the labor shortage. We don’t want another disruption. but we’re prepared to strike.”

Kathy Finn, Secretary-Treasurer of UFCW 770 told The Checkout podcast, in regards to union members, “I've never seen them this engaged and upset about how they're being treated. They feel like the proposals from the employers are a slap in the face based on the amount of profit that is made. It doesn't recognize in any way the sacrifices they've made for these companies for two years, the sacrifices they've made with their health, working tons of overtime, coming in when they're needed because their coworkers are out sick, going the extra mile to serve the customers and communities and make sure people could eat throughout this pandemic. And they feel that all of their sacrifice and their hard work is not being rewarded and not being valued.”

“Twenty years ago this was a middle class job,” cashier and UFCW 770 collective bargaining committee member Rachel Fournier told the Los Angeles Times. “People are fed up and they’re eager to walk out.”