Thousands of SoCal grocery store workers inching one step closer to a strike
Thousands of grocery store workers across the Southland are one step closer to walking off the job.
The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union 770 announced late Saturday night that Southern California grocery workers had voted to strike, if needed.
The "yes" vote doesn't automatically result in a strike, but rather authorizes the union to call for one if there is no progress in labor negotiations.
The union says they are meeting with Ralphs, Albertsons, Vons and Pavilions on Wednesday. Among the issues, workers want a $5.00 per hour raise but were offered 60 cents instead.
Vons said it is trying to keep food affordable for customers.
In addition, Ralphs issued the below statement:
"Our proposal invests $141 million in new wages and prevents increases in health costs. This is a serious commitment by Ralphs to Southern California and to our exceptional associates," said Robert Branton, vice president of Operations at Ralphs. "Our three goals throughout negotiations are to reward and invest in our people, keep groceries affordable for our customers and maintain a sustainable business that creates jobs in the future. Ralphs' proposal meets all three goals. The current UFCW proposal only meets one of those goals. We encourage the UFCW to join us in meaningful and balanced negotiations to promptly deliver wage increases to our associates."
Ralphs added that stores remain open to serve customers, despite the strike authorization.