FOURTH ROUND OF MARKET TALKS TODAY HEALTH CARE ISSUE REMAINS STICKING POINT IN DISPUTE.

Byline: Michael Rappaport Staff Writer

Striking supermarket workers and representatives of the three involved chains will meet todayfor the fourth time with a federal mediator in an effort to settle their 10-week-old dispute.

The strike against Vons and the subsequent lockouts by Ralphs and Albertson's, which began Oct. 11, have reached something of a crisis point for the United Food and Commercial Workers union.

Because the three companies failed to make payments into the health fund for employees and retirees in November and December - about $40 million a month - the fund will run out of money before the end of the year.

``For something like this to happen, particularly at this time of year, it just breaks your heart,'' said Jack Brown, president, chairman and chief executive officer of Stater Bros. Markets, which is not party to the strike and has continued to make its payments. ``I have been in this business for 50 years and this is the worst thing I have ever seen happen.''

Brown said he had been assured by the UFCW that any employees currently working at companies not on strike and making their payments would be covered at least through January 2004.

Today's negotiations mark the fourth time Peter J. Hurtgen, director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, has come to Southern California to try to broker an agreement between the two sides.

The last round of negotiations went for six days and concluded on Dec. 7.

``Our goal in the mediation process is to build understanding and to move the parties toward an agreement,'' Hurtgen said. ``In this case, we are dealing with particularly difficult issues.''

Foremost among those has been health care. The supermarket chains have responded to rising costs in medical care by asking employees to shoulder part of the cost. The disagreement is over how much the workers, most of whom are part-time employees, should pay.

Earlier this week, UFCW International President Doug Dority told a rally in Southern California that the effects of this dispute would be felt far beyond the Los Angeles area.

``If these employers succeed in this fight, health care benefits across the entire industry will be on the fast track to extinction,'' he said. ``The collapse of supermarket industry benefits will create a corporate tidal wave that will sweep away benefits in other contracts, for all workers, in every industry.''

With issues like that at stake, emotions are understandably high.

``Feelings are so bitter right now that I'm a little bit skeptical whether these negotiations can accomplish anything,'' said Jack Kyser, chief economist with the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. ``I hope they can come to an agreement, but I'm not optimistic right now.''

Kyser said effects have already spread to other markets and to some of the regional manufacturers whose products find their way to supermarket shelves.

``We're seeing a lot of producers hurt,'' he said. ``People are cutting back orders already.''

Spokesman Terry O'Neil of Ralphs and spokeswoman Stacia Levenfeld of Albertson's both said they couldn't comment on the resumption of talks or on the health care issues involved.

Levenfeld did confirm that the talks were resuming today.

``I can't characterize them in any way other than that,'' she said.

Brown said as long as the two sides were talking, he was hopeful.

``It's like you and your wife,'' he said. ``You have a fight, and if you don't talk, it just gets worse. As long as you talk, there's hope.''

Michael Rappaport, [phone]

m-rapport(at)dailybulletin.com