GROCERS ARE 'THRILLED' TO HAVE WORKERS BACK MARKETING EFFORTS PLANNED FOR CUSTOMERS.Byline: Chris H. Sieroty Staff Writer Thousands of idled Ralphs and Albertsons grocery workers, many eager to earn a paycheck after 20 weeks on the picket line, have returned to work, company officials said Tuesday. ``We are excited that our associates will be back on the job earning a paycheck,'' Ralphs spokesman Terry O'Neil said. ``We have been working very hard to contact all our employees since late Sunday Sunday: see Sabbath; week. .'' O'Neil said each Ralphs store in Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, would be fully staffed. About 23,000 Albertsons employees returned to work Tuesday after the chain released its replacement workers who were brought in after the strike and lockout lockout, intentional closing up of a company, factory, or shop by an employer to prevent employees from working during a strike or labor dispute. The term lockout began. ``We expect to have most Vons employees back to work as early as Friday,'' said Vons spokeswoman Sandra Calderon. Safeway Inc., parent of Vons and Pavilions, planned to release its replacement workers by Thursday night. ``There won't be any overlap between temporaries and our current employees,'' Calderon said. Albertsons spokeswoman Lili Rodriguez declined to say if the company had fully staffed each store or whether they would bring back employees as needed as needed prn. See prn order. . She also declined to say how many temporary workers had been laid off. O'Neil said temporary workers at Ralphs had known all along they would be terminated once the dispute was settled. Dave Simonson David Arnold Simonson (born May 2, 1952 in Austin, Minnesota) was a former professional American football player who played in 4 NFL seasons from 1974-1977 for the 5 different teams. , president of Albertsons' Southern California division, said the company was committed to working hard to win back customer loyalty. ``We are thrilled thrill v. thrilled, thrill·ing, thrills v.tr. 1. To cause to feel a sudden intense sensation; excite greatly. 2. To give great pleasure to; delight. See Synonyms at enrapture. to welcome back our associates,'' Simonson said in a statement released late Monday. Based in Boise, Idaho “Boise” redirects here. For other uses, see Boise (disambiguation). Boise is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho. It is the county seat of Ada County and the principal city of the Boise metropolitan area. , Albertsons Inc. was expected to introduce its preferred savings card program today in an effort to win back shoppers. Calderon said Vons has a marketing and advertising plan in place to help win back customers. Albertsons and Kroger Co., parent of Ralphs, locked out their workers Oct. 12 in solidarity with Safeway, whose Vons and Pavilions stores were hit by a strike by the United Food and Commercial Workers The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union is a labor union representing approximately 1.4 million workers in the United States and Canada in many industries, including agriculture, health care, meatpacking, poultry and food processing, manufacturing, textile and union a day earlier. Union members voted overwhelmingly to approve a new three-year contract Sunday, ending the longest supermarket strike in U.S. history. The agreement covers 70,000 supermarket workers in Southern California, including some who were not affected by the strike. The stock price of Albertsons lost 82 cents, or 3.27 percent, to close Tuesday at $24.28. Kroger declined 36 cents, or 1.85 percent, to $19.07, while Safeway lost 46 cents, or 1.98 percent, to $22.77. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: About 23,000 Albertsons employees returned to work Tuesday replacement workers were released. Brett K. Snow/Staff Photographer |
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