“Please respect our picket lines,” dozens of
Ralph’s employees requested as they lined Le Conte Avenue on
Sunday in an attempt to discourage shoppers from entering the
supermarket.
Holding signs and deterring potential customers, clerks from the
Westwood grocery store (frequented by UCLA students) joined
thousands of Southern California clerks who have been on strike
since late Saturday. Ralph’s employees began to picket early
Sunday morning.
Officials of the United Food and Commercial Workers union
decided to strike for the first time in 25 years after negotiations
with store officials broke down over health benefits and wages for
new hires.
Union officials have said they want the supermarket chains to
maintain health care plans and provide raises for new employees.
UFCW is demanding a raise of 50 cents an hour the first year and 45
cents an hour the following two years.
Clerks at Kroger Co.’s Ralph’s, Safeway Inc.’s
Vons and Albertson’s grocery stores plan to strike until
negotiations can be reached.
Meanwhile, grocery stores are coping by hiring temporary
employees and closing down some of their departments.
“It’s rough, it’s rough … these are my
people,” said Mike Quinones, store director of the Westwood
Ralph’s. The store hired 70 temporary employees, many of whom
were called to work immediately.
Quinones added that, as a member of the store’s
management, he has no control over the corporation’s
policies.
“We are the puppets on the strings,” he said.
But employees said they were upset from the lack of support and
response being shown by the store’s management.
A store cashier, Raul Membreno, 20, said he plans to be out
picketing on the streets “the whole day and night”
until workers get answers.
Many strikers, only a few of whom were willing to talk, said
they are prepared to strike for about two to three weeks.
After three weeks without pay, however, many employees said they
would not be able to survive.
“We have to work to support our families … we have to
eat,” said a service deli worker, Lupe Montalvo, 33, who was
accompanied by her young daughter on the picket lines.
She added that there are members of whole families who are
Ralph’s employees and will be out of work while the strike
continues.
While current employees refused to serve customers, new
temporary employees scrambled to learn grocery store basics.
Hector Servantes, 20, said he was called in this morning to
begin work immediately at $9.75 per hour. The average pay for
grocery clerks is $15 per hour.
Servantes said he had heard about a possible strike about two
weeks ago and applied for a temporary position. His
responsibilities include greeting customers and bagging
groceries.
From the few hours Servantes had been working in the store, he
said he thought that the lack of experienced employees seemed to be
affecting business.
Nevertheless, Servantes said his job was not difficult and that
he would be working for the store until the strike ended.
The store’s management agreed that service was being
affected by the strike.
On the surface, the store seems to be functioning, but
underneath the rug, there’s still dirt, Quinones said.
Still, many shoppers who decided to cross the picket lines said
they were not completely dissatisfied by the service.
They were only a little inconvenienced by the slow cashiers,
said Katie Yan, a Beverly Hills High School sophomore.
The strike did not deter large numbers of UCLA students, who
crowded the aisles and filled their carts with the week’s
groceries as usual.
First-year undeclared student Mina Mitsuoka said she conducted
her shopping in the normal fashion and did not notice a
difference.
Though some shoppers did not want to offend striking employees,
they said they entered the store out of sheer necessity.
“I hate crossing the picket line, but I have to
eat,” said Howard Hoffenberg, an attorney in the area.
Hoffenberg said he was disappointed the store had closed its
seafood department, forcing him to purchase packaged fish.
With a sign of apology to customers posted near the empty
shelves, the store was also forced to close down its bakery
department.
Only a few employees aside from the managers showed up for work
on Sunday morning.
David Yashar, Ralph’s pharmacy manager, said he decided to
work because he believes his patients come first.
With reports from Daily Bruin wire services.