Nine days after grocery clerks across Southern California went
on strike, third-year Japanese student Irene Chen crossed their
picket line for the first time to buy some fruit at the Westwood
Ralphs on Tuesday.
“We tried to avoid it, but we just needed some
fruit,” Chen said, as she handed a bagged papaya to her
visiting boyfriend.
Chen said alternative stores such as Whole Foods Market did not
have the variety of fruit she wanted for reasonable enough
prices.
With no end in sight for talks between the United Food and
Commercial Workers union and the major supermarket chains, many
shoppers’ previous determination to honor employee picket
lines is beginning to wane.
Clerks at Kroger Co.’s Ralphs, Safeway Inc.’s Vons
and Albertson’s grocery stores went on strike Oct. 11 after
negotiations concerning health care and wages for new hires broke
down.
Mike Quiñones, the store director of the Westwood Ralphs,
said he has noticed business picking up during the past two to
three days.
Quiñones said he “guesses” that it is an
indication of shoppers no longer honoring picket lines.
Many strikers said they noticed an increase in the number of
shoppers from last week and expect the amount to continue
increasing the longer the strike progresses.
“Next week everybody’s going to say “˜forget
it,'” said striking produce employee Emanuel Jahonsan,
30.
However, Jahonsan said he realizes he has no control over where
shoppers choose to go.
“It’s their prerogative. … I’m not going to
force anyone (not to enter),” he said. “Anyone who has
morals and feels something for us will honor the picket
lines.”
But many shoppers said their hunger outweighed their desire to
honor the strike.
“I stayed away for a week, but I need to eat,” said
local resident and computer programmer Gary Huynh, 30.
“I will try to stay away until I need food,” he
said.
Temporary workers said they have become increasingly accustomed
to their jobs. They, too, have notice the rising amount of
customers lately.
Juan Rios, who currently works in the produce department, said
he began noticing an increase in shoppers about two days ago.
Other Ralphs regulars who never honored picket lines because
they felt shopping elsewhere was too inconvenient said they have
noticed an increase in traffic through the market’s large
sliding doors.
Michael Chou, a fourth-year Asian American studies student,
agreed more customers have been entering lately than when the
strike first started.
Union officials remain optimistic, however, because business is
still lower now than it was before the strike began.
To increase public awareness about the union’s gripe with
the stores’ managements, members of UFCW will continue to be
out on the picket lines “hammering home” their message,
officials said.
The union is also depending on the media to help get its message
out.
While the negotiations remain deadlocked, frustration persists
on both sides of the picket line.
“It pisses you off (when people cross the lines),”
said Ralphs deli worker Cecilio Vansen, 24. “It’s kind
of saying people don’t care.”
Union officials have said the purpose of the strike was to
impose a financial penalty and that they hope it starts hurting the
companies soon.