United Food Commercial Workers International

In a largely symbolic vote applauded by union leaders and grocery workers, county supervisors on Tuesday directed staff to study a proposal by Supervisor John K. Flynn to limit the sale of groceries at popular big-box discount stores such as Wal-Mart and Costco. The board voted 4 to 1 to direct Chief Administrator Harry Hufford and County Counsel Jim McBride to review the issue and report back with recommendations.

In a largely symbolic vote applauded by union leaders and grocery workers, county supervisors on Tuesday directed staff to study a proposal by Supervisor John K. Flynn to limit the sale of groceries at popular big-box discount stores such as Wal-Mart and Costco. The board voted 4 to 1 to direct Chief Administrator Harry Hufford and County Counsel Jim McBride to review the issue and report back with recommendations.

As part of President Obama's push to streamline regulations on businesses, the U.S. Department of Agriculture plans to let chicken slaughterhouses run production lines faster and with fewer federal inspectors, angering food safety advocates and poultry plant workers. Under the proposal, production lines would be allowed to move 25% faster, while the government would cut by as much as 75% the number of line inspectors eyeing chicken bodies for defects before they are packaged for consumption.

Presidents of union locals from around the country called for solidarity with meatpackers who lost jobs during a strike and accused top labor leadership of cooperating with management to force concessions. About 250 workers at a rally in Boston's Faneuil Hall cheered speakers who called for action against the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union leadership, which they said permitted deteriorating wages and benefits.

Attorneys for United Food and Commercial Workers International Locals 770, 899 and 1442 are seeking to enjoin Ralphs from any further layoffs or reduction in working hours of its food clerks pending an arbitration hearing. Ralphs and UFCW officials have been in a dispute for the last several months over the supermarket's efforts to reduce the number of higher-paid food workers in order to replace them with clerks that are paid less.

Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez Party: Democrat Age: 40 Residence: Los Angeles Personal: Single, no children Education: UC Berkeley Previous occupation: Regional vice president and local political director, United Food and Commercial Workers International Union Budget plan: Closes the deficit with minimal program cuts, with the help of $9.3 billion in borrowing. A new tax on oil production would be used to repay the loan.

In response to A.R. Fullerton's question ("Not Much Workers Can Do to Circumvent Union Rules," Shop Talk, June 9) answered by James McDonald, a more balanced reply would be as follows: Congratulations on your well-paying union job with good benefits and job security. Your wages and benefits would be a lot less if you lived in a so-called right-to-work state, where you wouldn't have to join a union. I think you should continue your high level of performance, which contributes to your employer's financial success.

The Arkansas Supreme Court overturned a trespassing decision that barred a labor union from soliciting for members at Wal-Mart and Sam's Club stores nationwide. The court ruled that the world's largest retailer failed to show irreparable harm from solicitations by members of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union. Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said it was still examining the order.

Margaret Florence Fahringer, a retired grocery clerk, died Saturday at a Ventura nursing home. She was 90. Fahringer was born May 25, 1910, in Cincinnati. When she was 18 months old, she and her older sister moved to Hungary with their maternal grandmother and an aunt. The children were unable to return to this country until Fahringer was about 12 because of the start of World War I.

Albertson's Inc. said Tuesday that the high cost of converting California's Lucky supermarket chain to Albertsons stores depressed its third-quarter earnings and will cause profits next year to miss forecasts. Albertson's, the No. 2 food retailer, has struggled with a more-costly-than-expected integration of the stores and operations of Lucky's parent, American Stores Corp., since its acquisition in June.