A labor agreement this week between supermarket chain Stater Bros. and unionized workers threatens the two-tier wage system at the heart of a bitter labor dispute that crippled the Southern California grocery industry three years ago.
Stater and the United Food and Commercial Workers union declined to provide details of the contract, pending a vote Wednesday by 14,000 Stater employees. But people familiar with the agreement said it would end the tiered wage scale and improve health benefits. The current contract expires March 5.
The UFCW plans to use the tentative pact as the model for its talks with the three larger grocery chains involved in the 4 1/2 -month strike and lockout that ended in February 2004.
The labor dispute involving Safeway Inc.'s Vons and Pavilions stores, Kroger Co.'s Ralphs and Albertsons (now owned by Supervalu Inc.) disrupted shopping across Southern California. Customers turned to such stores as Stater, Trader Joe's, Costco and others that weren't part of the work stoppage.
For the roughly 60,000 workers then at the three big chains, the resulting contract created a dual pay scale that gave new hires lower wages and longer waiting periods to qualify for health insurance.
Stater Bros. avoided the labor dispute by agreeing in advance to honor the terms of any contract worked out by the union and the larger chains.
"We wanted to get this behind us so that we can operate our supermarkets without the threat of a strike," said Jack Brown, chief executive of Colton-based Stater, which operates 162 stores. "Hopefully, this will encourage the other three chains to negotiate in good faith. I am worried about the effect of another strike on the food industry in Southern California."
For decades the union has negotiated with the major chains as a group. In the current round of talks, the union plans to negotiate with each major chain separately in hopes of rolling back the dual pay scale and waiting period for health insurance.
"We are hoping that if a regional company like Stater Bros. can put together a fair agreement, then the national chains can do the same," said Connie Leyva, president of UFCW Local 1428 in Claremont.
Greg Conger, president of Local 324 in Buena Park, said that at a minimum, the tentative pact with Stater would tell UFCW members at Ralphs, Vons and Albertsons "that a good employer can step up to the plate."
