UPDATE: Grocery workers reach agreement; Vote still remains


Our original story is below:
Where West Seattle shoppers purchase their Thanksgiving turkeys may depend on the result of a series of negotiations between grocery store owners of QFC, Safeway and others, and unions representing their employees, UFCW 21, UFCW 81 and Teamsters 38. Employees from central Puget Sound met throughout Snohomish, King and Kitsap Counties the week of Nov. 8 to vote to reject their employers’ proposal which would cut pay, health benefits and the pension.   On Wednesday, Nov. 10 in Bellevue they voted 94-percent to reject their employers’ proposals and to authorize a strike. Negotiations between workers and these big chains have been dragging on since they began in mid-March.

On Friday, Nov. 12, both the union and the employers agreed to set bargaining dates for a round of negotiations, Thursday and Friday the 18th and 19th, a week before Thanksgiving.

"Workers know what the economy is like out there, and they don't need a CEO who makes $10 million a year to tell them that the economy is tough," said Tom Geiger, Communications Director, UFCW 21. The UFCW 21 is the state’s largest private sector union with over 36,000 workers in grocery store, retail, health care and other industry jobs. The out-of-state-based corporations they represent include California-based Safeway, Albertsons (owned by Minnesota-based Supervalu), and QFC and Fred Meyer (both owned by Cincinnati-based food giant Kroger).

"All the workers are looking for is a fair contract," Geiger added. "Nobody is looking for huge wage increases or a Cadillac health plan. They know these grocery store companies are bringing in millions of profit. They're doing all right. People aren't eating out as much at restaurants and are transferring their purchases to grocery stores. One reason they're bringing in millions is because of the hard work of these workers. The CEO paid 10 million bucks a year says, 'I'm going to take advantage of this tough economy and cut your pay and benefits,' and that's unfair. 94-percent is pretty resounding and sends a message.

"Employers have already been cutting hours," he said. "The average number of hours of grocery store workers in this region is now 28 hours a week. That's the case now. In that context, what is being proposed by the employers are additional cuts. It now takes several years to move up the wage school, different than when I was a kid. The key thing in West Seattle is the independents, the Thriftway, Met Market, PCC. If we were to get to the point of a strike there are plenty of places in this town where people can go and get their groceries needs and not cross the picket line and we've heard customers say so."