Unions, community, anti-war forces
An alliance grocery bosses find hard to break
By John Parker
Los Angeles
The big three grocery chains that forced a
strike and lockout in Southern California of over 71,000
grocery workers must be teary-eyed. After seven weeks, the
union hasn't blinked.
Nor is it likely to do so. Close to 10,000 drivers and
warehouse workers in the Teamsters union are now fully honoring
the picket lines of the United Food and Commercial Workers at
grocery distribution centers. This means the drivers won't take
goods to the stores and the warehouse workers won't pack them
into trucks for distribution.
The Teamsters made their decision at the beginning of the
"Thanksgiving" holiday week, one of the busiest shopping weeks
of the year. Jim Santangelo, president of Teamsters Joint
Council 42, said the action would last for the duration of the
strike. "We either end this thing toge ther or we die
together," said Santangelo.
Burt Flickinger, an industry analyst from the Strategic
Resource Group in New York, said, "It is an absolute crippler
for the supermarket chains. It raises the stakes and ensures
that between the three chains, they'll lose over half a billion
dollars collectively between October and November from the
strike."
"This is a real shot in the arm," said Rick Icaza, president
of UFCW Local 770. Regarding the grocery chains, he said, "I
think it's going to force them to rethink their stand on
negotiations. The question in my mind is, do they want to give
up Christmas, and can they afford to?"
Bosses' strategy backfires
The companies that forced the strike and lockout are Vons,
owned by Safeway; Ralphs, owned by Kroger; and Albert son's.
Together these big three control over 60 percent of the
Southern California grocery market.
Safeway CEO Steven Burd is the leader of the pack, and has
said he won't compromise on demands to take back over 50
percent of the workers' health care benefits, create a two-tier
wage system and reduce funding for retirement pensions.
Wall Street had high hopes for this strategy. It cited as a
shining example Wal-Mart's poverty-level wages with sub-minimum
benefits. That giant company's profits have been buoyed by
forced unpaid overtime and illegal firings to keep the union
out.
But the hopes of the grocery chains are now fading fast.
Sales at the picketed stores are estimated to have dropped to
one quarter the pre-strike level. In addition, most Wall Street
analysts have significantly devalued the stock of Albert son's
and Safeway to a near-sell status.
Even before this solidarity move by the Teamsters, the UFCW
was on the offensive. It expanded its picketing outside the
strike area, sending striking and locked-out workers to Safeway
stores in Northern California, Washington, Baltimore and Denver
as "informational pickets." This tactic did further financial
damage to Safeway, while remaining within the confines of
legality.
Alliance of anti-war, community and union forces
Added to this solidarity has been the unprecedented
community support given the grocery workers. Stores that are
still picketed remain relatively empty compared to seven weeks
ago. In addition, some community groups are now walking the
picket line and organizing food assistance to the strikers,
who've endured over four weeks without a paycheck.
The first public show of support for the grocery workers was
organized by Act Now to Stop War and End Racism, when its
Community Action Project to Support Labor provided solidarity
picketers.
In consultation with Local 770 union officials, ANSWER then
held a press conference and food distribution to strikers in
which community and labor activists, clergy and union
representatives participated. This was aired on four major
networks. At the next food distribution, the day before
"Thanksgiving," the food donations doubled. Three new food
drop-off sites, in addition to the ANSWER office, were
established, one being a church in South Central.
Solidarity among the anti-war forces, community activists
and union workers is strong. In fact, at the food distributions
the loudest cheers from the striking workers came when speakers
voiced their opposition to the war in Iraq. "Bring the troops
home now" is a popular demand with the workers, especially
since many have relatives who joined the armed services
expecting job training and education. Some have come back in
coffins. Others who were forced to massacre Iraqi people,
including children, retain deep psychological scars.
Why the increased community support for this strike? Why the
increased willingness of the unions to work with an anti-war
group?
An important qualitative change has been taking place in the
makeup of the working class, and it is reflected in the current
union struggles. As industries employ more high-tech equipment,
they also need fewer workers. Many higher skilled and
relatively more privileged workers have been pushed into
unemployment or lower-paying jobs. At the same time, there has
been an increase in lower-paid service industry jobs like food
distribution and transportation.
Unions like the Service Employees International and UFCW
more and more resemble, in appearance and condition, this new
majority of the working class that comes from socially
oppressed groupings, including women, Latina/o, Black, Asian,
Native, lesbian, gay, bi, transgender and disabled workers.
Their demands speak to the conditions common to all workers,
union and non-union alike, and therefore receive even more
empathy from other workers.
The grocery workers' fight to defend health care resonates
well with the over 82 million people in this country who have
inadequate or no health care, as well as with those who
struggle daily to hold on to the coverage they've got. This
issue becomes more urgent as basic social services are eroded
to pay for more costly U.S. wars.
All lower-paid and lower-skilled workers are
disproportionately victimized by war and oppression. The
grocery workers are in a strong position to strengthen and
broaden not only the anti-war movement but all progressive
movements--not simply because of the resolve and determination
they have developed in fighting oppression, but because their
conditions are similar to those of so many others.
In Southern California alone, the strike covers 859 stores
and over 71,000 workers. How many people visit those 859 stores
in a day, a week, a year? How many valuable lessons about class
are those consumers learning from this? Is it just a
coincidence that this unprecedented Teamster solidarity action
occurred during such a strike?
The class battles waged by this ever-growing sector of the
workforce are of prime importance, even as these workers prove
to be the most capable and important allies of the anti-war,
anti-racist movement.
An analysis of the changing character of the working
class can be found in "High Tech, Low Pay," written in 1984 by
Workers World Party founder Sam Marcy. The entire book is
online at www.workers.org.
Reprinted from the Dec. 11, 2003, issue of
Workers World newspaper
This article is copyright under a Creative
Commons License.
Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011
Email: ww@workers.org
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