California Atty. Gen. Bill Lockyer said Monday that he would investigate whether supermarket companies violated antitrust laws by agreeing to share profits and losses during the grocery workers' strike.
His announcement came as the United Food and Commercial Workers union and the three companies prepared to return to the bargaining table and as the effects of a week-old Teamsters sympathy strike rippled through stores in Southern California.
Lockyer said he subpoenaed the companies for a copy of their mutual aid pact.
Albertsons Inc., Kroger Co.'s Ralphs chain and Safeway Inc., which owns Vons and Pavilions, have confirmed the pact exists but have declined to release details.
The chains maintain that because they are joined together in a collective bargaining agreement with the union, their mutual aid agreement is exempt from federal and state antitrust laws.
"Such agreements are not uncommon and are lawful under state and federal law," said Stacia Levenfeld a spokeswoman for Albertsons.
Lockyer spokesman Tom Dresslar said there was no clear precedent.
"Our initial review of the legal landscape indicates that it is far from a closed question," Dresslar said. "That's why we want to get the agreements, so we can get a firm handle on the facts."
Dresslar said the companies had until Dec. 22 to respond to the subpoena.
According to Wall Street analysts who follow the companies closely, the agreement says that if one of the three reaps added business during the strike, it will share some of that money.
The UFCW struck Vons and Pavilions on Oct. 11 after talks on a new contract broke down over health insurance, pay scales for new workers and other issues. Ralphs and Albertsons locked out their union workers the next day.
The mutual aid pact took on significance with the Oct. 31 decision by the UFCW to pull its pickets from Ralphs stores to focus pressure on the other two chains.
That has led to a sharp pickup in business for Ralphs -- which presumably is sharing the bounty with Safeway and Albertsons.
Union leaders cheered Lockyer's action.
"The unions have contended all along that this is an illegal restraint of trade," said UFCW spokeswoman Ellen Anreder. "This just goes to fortify our case, and may force a modification to their game plan."
The union and the markets will start negotiating again today. Peter J. Hurtgen, director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, is trying to patch together an agreement and put 70,000 union members back to work.
