Close to 90,000 grocery workers, along with 2,000 transit
district mechanics, are on strike or locked-out (in Southern
California) in favor of fighting for jobs with good health care
benefits and fair wages. Their employers, profitable grocery store
super chains like Safeway which owns Von
’s, Albertson’s and Ralph’s, are insisting on raising the cost
of health care benefits for current employees and trying to
establish a two-tiered system for 70,000 grocery store workers.
Close to 90,000 grocery workers, along with 2,000 transit district mechanics, are on strike or locked-out (in Southern California) in favor of fighting for jobs with good health care benefits and fair wages. Their employers, profitable grocery store super chains like Safeway which owns Von’s, Albertson’s and Ralph’s, are insisting on raising the cost of health care benefits for current employees and trying to establish a two-tiered system for 70,000 grocery store workers.
The reason why so many people are interested in working for the grocery business is because of the excellent health care coverage. But now, what are they to do with the new contract negotiation, which is now taken into serious consideration? What are they trying to negotiate? Let’s take a brief look:
• No wage increase until Oct. 3, 2005
• Permanent two-tier wages and benefits
• No maintenance of benefits
• Drastic cuts in benefits
• New 7,800 hour progression for employees hired after Oct. 5, 2003
• New hire top pay rate $2.80 below current top rates
• Drastically reduced pension accruals
For example, on a $20,000 hospital bill, a grocery worker who makes on average an hourly wage of $12 to $14 might have to pay as much as $10,000. Such key benefits as dental, vision; well-baby care and office visits also could be eliminated under the employer proposal.
Through their union, grocery store workers have made these good, solid retail jobs. Unlike workers in many nonunion service jobs, the union grocery store workers have secured family-supporting wages and benefits. Under the grocery employers proposal, these workers, who make $19,176 a year on average, would have to pay an average of $4,944 per family to maintain their current benefits. Health care costs like that would drive these workers into poverty.
As a grocery business employee myself, I know numerous co-workers who are dealing with constant worry not knowing if they too will be affected by the new contract proposal. I know several families where husbands, wives and sometimes even children work in this food chain. There could be many economic hardships if they too were to strike and or if the new contract were to be accepted.
Just imagine what these families will have to overcome: no or little health care, not able to pay the rent, no food on the table, and most importantly, they will forced to seek for better paying and beneficial jobs, which is very difficult for many Americans to obtain in such a poor economy.
What about those who rely on their salary and medical benefits in order to attend college?
I have several friends who are independent and working in grocery markets who need these good paying jobs in order to continue their dreams in educating themselves. It’s almost impossible to survive in California with only $300 a week to pay for rent, food, tuition, and car insurance, which is absolutely ridiculous.
These companies know their actions are unacceptable, not just to their own workers, but to all of America. They intend to turn tens of thousands of family-wage jobs with good benefits into low-wage jobs without meaningful health care benefits.
Like Wal-Mart, it appears Safeway has declared war on its workers and their Union, the UFCW.
These companies are very profitable. Safeway generated more than $10 billion in profits last year. The CEO of Safeway Steve Burd, gets enough loot earning $2,209,000 in total compensation in addition with $167,331,507 in unexercised stock options from previous years.
It seems as if the only people who would benefit from all of this would be the Teel family and its associates. In a rank conducted by Forbes, Joyce Raley Teel, head of the chain who is ranked 280 out of 400 as the richest in America, and Raley’s as 49 out of 500 Top Private Companies in America, are swimming in gravy while Americans are filling their shopping carts, while satisfying their sweet tooth and putting the pop in the soda.
The strikes give emphasis to the unsustainable state of health care in America. Our nation is facing a health care crisis of massive extent. The workers on strike today with UFCW should be acknowledged and recognized as brave leaders on the front lines of the fight for every American’s basic right to have affordable and quality health care for themselves and their families.
Cindy Hernandez is a senior at Live Oak, is ASB commissioner of diversity in ASB and features editor on the student newspaper, the Oak Leaf. She alternates writing for Teen Perspective with Yasser Elassal. Contact Cindy at ed******@*************es.com/
