Chants and claps filled Southern California grocery store parking lots Wednesday.
Community leaders, elected officials and shoppers rallied in support of grocery employees at local supermarket parking lots. The workers are angry about a new proposal to cut their pay benefits by 50% or more to maintain health care access.
The contract covering Southern California grocery workers expired six months ago and negotiations are still in the works. Workers plan to vote on a strike authorization next week and they say they will go ahead with it, if they must.
Consumers say they still have to eat, which means they will go to the stores. But, others insist they don't have to necessarily shop.
"I don't cross the picket line. I mean, we go home and make something up together. I'll congregate with my neighbors. I do not cross picket lines," said shopper Pat Sanders.
There is still one more week until a strike vote. Wednesday's three Ralphs rallies, this morning in Van Nuys, this afternoon in Koreatown and tonight in the Crenshaw District, were nothing more or less than a media event, that attracted attention and no shortage of politicians. It was designed to apply public pressure to the big chain owners of Ralphs, Vons and Albertsons bargaining as a group.
"We want to work," said April Stein, an Albertsons employee. "We enjoy our jobs, we like to take care of customers. But, we also need you to help take care of us."
Hearing the workers claims and pleas in these high unemployment times, some shoppers can't help but feel their pain.
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"Well, they've got to do what they've got to do, I guess, to get their voice heard," said shopper Gemina Rustrain.
A spokesperson from Ralphs said these rallies don't do anyone any good and it only scares customers away. The store said it would prefer to work this out internally at the bargaining table.
Additionally, during all this publicity, Ralphs said it has been getting calls from people who are out of work, who said they would be more than willing to fill out job applications if the strike happens.
