Southern California grocery workers union signs tentative wage hike agreement, averting strike

Unions representing 47,000 Southern California grocery workers tentatively signed a new three-year contract with Ralphs, Albertsons, Vons and Pavilions, averting a strike they had authorized last week.

The contract will be put to a vote this week by rank-and-file members of seven United Food and Commercial Workers locals representing workers at 540 stores from San Diego to San Luis Obispo.

The unions delayed releasing details of the agreement until their members vote on it. But they praised the result, which they said included higher wages and improved benefits for essential workers who have toiled through difficult conditions during the two-year pandemic. Ninety-five percent of union members voted to move ahead with a strike if supermarkets refused to substantially raise their pay.

“This is a great agreement that will help turn grocery store jobs around and make tangible improvements in our lives,” Rachel Fournier, a cashier at a Los Angeles Ralphs store and a bargaining committee member, said in a statement released by UFCW 770, which represents 18,000 workers in the Los Angeles area.

Tyson Kehm, left, and Andrea Garcia, help make strike-ready signs at UFCW Local 770 headquarters in Los Angeles on March 21.

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

Another bargaining committee member, Manny Estrada, a pharmacy clerk at a Vons in Grover Beach, called it “a big deal. Grocery store workers have served our customers throughout the most difficult moments of our lifetime. We’ve kept the stores open and have contributed to the companies’ success. This is a well-deserved contract that we look forward to ratifying soon.”

A spokeswoman for Albertsons, which owns Vons and Pavilions, confirmed that a tentative agreement had been reached. A spokesman for Ralphs, which is owned by Kroger, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.