Following a resounding vote by members to authorize their bargaining team to declare an unfair labor practice strike, negotiations between the union that represents about 12,000 Stater Bros. employees and the Southern California grocery store chain are set to resume on Wednesday.
This vote gives Stater Bros. a clear message: In a statement issued Friday, the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Stater Bros. Bargaining Committee declared, “We have had enough of their union-busting tactics that undermine workers and silence our voices.”
And if they believed that members of Stater Bros. could be intimidated into not defending our rights, they were proven to be completely mistaken tonight.
This strike authorization vote, according to union organizers, is the first of its sort to take place during talks with Stater Bros.
The committee went on to say, “At Stater Bros., we’ve never had to take an unfair labor practice strike vote, but the company has changed.” We have been pressing Stater Bros. for substantive answers to issues like understaffing, hazardous working conditions, and unjust compensation since March, but all we have witnessed is a disregard for our rights, which is reflected in these ULP allegations.
No comprehensive vote total was made public.
UFCW locals who represent the grocery chain’s workers have accused Stater Bros. of a number of unfair labor practices (ULPs), including:
- Unlawful surveillance of union members active in the contract campaign;
- Discrimination based on union support;
- Unlawful interrogation of employees;
- Direct dealing with members about bargaining proposals, bypassing union representatives, and
- Failure to provide requested information critical to contract negotiations.
Living wages, reasonably priced health care benefits, a stable pension, increased staffing, and improved working conditions for a better customer experience are just a few of the important areas that the union is calling for improvements in.
Union officials stressed that the vote does not guarantee a strike will take place, even in the event that one is authorized.
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Stater Bros. did not immediately comment. As of publication, no response had been received to an email requesting a response that was submitted on Friday evening, after regular business hours ended.
The City News Service
