Grocers, Lockyer in Late Talks Over Mutual-Aid Probe
The three chains in the supermarket dispute held last-minute talks Monday with the state attorney general over his demand that they surrender a copy of their controversial mutual-aid pact.
Atty. Gen. Bill Lockyer, citing potential antitrust violations, subpoenaed Safeway Inc., Kroger Co. and Albertsons Inc. on Dec. 1, asking them to produce the agreement by the close of business Monday.
Lockyer spokesman Nathan Barankin declined to comment on whether the stores had complied but said discussions continued between Lockyer's office and the chains late Monday. "We expect to have things resolved" by today, he said.
A spokeswoman for Safeway, which owns Vons and Pavilions, confirmed there were talks with Lockyer's office but declined to elaborate.
Negotiations between the chains and the United Food and Commercial Workers union collapsed Friday after the stores rejected a contract offer from the UFCW. The proposal "fell far short," the chains said in a joint statement.
The strike and lockout, now in its third month, yielded these other developments Monday:
* The UFCW pulled its pickets from warehouses for Albertsons and Kroger's Ralphs chain as planned, but in a surprise move the union kept picket lines active at Vons and Pavilions distribution centers. The Teamsters union said it would continue to honor those picket lines.
* Union officials said they believed they were close to completing deals with medical providers to retain coverage for grocery workers and their dependents when employer-paid health benefits expire Dec. 31.
* Another union said it was seeking to replace the UFCW as the bargaining agent for 800 or so pharmacists who work for the grocery chains in the region. The Guild for Professional Pharmacists, based in Woodland Hills, said it had signatures of about 240 pharmacists who wished to exit the UFCW.
The three supermarket companies are bargaining jointly with the UFCW and, in a sign of solidarity, entered a mutual-aid pact that effectively calls for Kroger to share the windfall that its Ralphs stores have received since Oct. 31. That's when the UFCW removed its pickets from Ralphs stores to focus pressure on the two other companies.
The stores have defended the accord as legal but have disclosed few details about it. Kroger has said the payments would follow a formula based on the three chains' recent sales as compared with their historical sales. Kroger and Albertsons also have said no money would change hands until the dispute ends.
