GROCERY GIANTS STILL REELING FROM MONTHS-LONG STRIKE.Byline: Candice Choi Staff Writer A year after a massive 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 and strike sent shock waves through the supermarket industry 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, , Wadie Dafesh was back in his quiet neighborhood Vons shopping for milk. The prices and service at the store seem to have improved - but mainly Dafesh was back because of the convenient location. ``I live next door,'' said Dafesh, a Woodland Hills resident who liked the smaller shops he tried during the strikes, but not enough to change his habits permanently. Unlike Dafesh, many shoppers who discovered a world of independent markets have yet to return. And earnings reports show the big three chains are still reeling from the effects of the largest and longest labor dispute the industry's ever experienced. ``The impact it had is irreversible,'' said Phil Lempert, editor of SupermarketGuru.com. ``A lot of people got a look at the alternative and independent grocers and liked what they saw.'' It is estimated that the strikes cost Ralphs, Vons and Albertsons more than $2 billion, and the companies are still bleeding. Albertsons lowered its sales and earning forecast for the year on Friday, citing expenses related to union agreements and intense price competition in Southern California among a slew of factors. Safeway, which operates Vons, expects to have lingering expenses at least into next year. The strike was set in motion a year ago when 59,000 workers were locked out or walked out in a contract dispute over health care and wages. The dispute raged unabated un·a·bat·ed adj. Sustaining an original intensity or maintaining full force with no decrease: an unabated windstorm; a battle fought with unabated violence. for 20 weeks - even through the holiday shopping rush - until a settlement was reached Feb. 29, 2004. The three-year contract preserved affordable health care for existing workers, but imposed a system that gives new hires a lower compensation package and fewer health benefits. The impact of the two-tier system The two-tier system, in the context of labor relations, is a type of contract employed by companies to scale back negotiated wages and benefits. When a two-tier system is in place in a new contract, workers hired before ratification of that contract have a wage progression on morale is palpable Easily perceptible, plain, obvious, readily visible, noticeable, patent, distinct, manifest. The term palpable usually refers to some type of egregious wrong, such as a governmental error or abuse of power. , said Barbara Maynard, spokeswoman for 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 . ``The turnover is just incredible. That could eventually affect customer service, which could really hurt business in the long term,'' she said. Showing signs of recovery, Safeway recently posted fourth-quarter sales of $11.4 billion, a slight increase from the $11 billion it garnered a year ago. The strike and other special expenses cost the company $47.2 million in the fourth quarter. ``We're working hard to rebuild our business,'' said Gary Rhodes Gary Rhodes OBE (born April 22, 1960) is a British restaurateur, cookery writer, and celebrity chef, known for his love of British cuisine, distinctive hair style (which has since been shaved off) and use of butter and mustard (of which he says 'if you don't like it, use just a , spokesman for Kroger's, which operates Ralphs. ``I don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. how long it's going to take.'' As supermarkets big and small continue to duke it out, the focus on customer service is sharper than ever. Even before the strike hit, the rise of independent grocers like Whole Foods was recasting re·cast tr.v. re·cast, re·cast·ing, re·casts 1. To mold again: recast a bell. 2. the supermarket landscape. For those smaller chains, the strikes presented an opportunity to build a lasting customer base, Lempert said. Stater stat·er 1 n. A resident of a particular state or type of state. Often used in combination: Lone Star staters; farm staters; the struggle between slave staters and free staters. Noun 1. Bros BROS Brothers BROS Benefits and Retirement Operations Section (King County, Washington) BROS Barnes and Richmond Operatic Society (London, UK) . dispatched trainers to emphasize customer service skills. Shelves were stocked up to meet the demands of the 40 percent increase in new shoppers. ``Frankly, we were mobbed at times,'' said Jack Brown, president of Colton-based Stater Bros. ``It gave us the exposure we were looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. .'' Today, the grocer estimates a 10 percent increase in shoppers since the strikes. ``That customer is ours now,'' Brown said. Whole Foods Supermarkets beefed up staff, stocked stores with informational packets and staged more in-store tastings. The organic grocer has kept a ``substantial'' share of the new customers it won during the strikes, said spokeswoman Marci Frumkin. ``We kept more than we, or anyone else, expected us to keep,'' she said. At Ralphs, prices have been slashed on a number of items, Rhodes said, and the company is focusing on improving the in-store experience. Improving morale is another matter. Many workers in Southern California who had accepted the terms of the two-tier wage system were outraged when the same terms were not imposed in Northern California Northern California, sometimes referred to as NorCal, is the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. The region contains the San Francisco Bay Area, the state capital, Sacramento; as well as the substantial natural beauty of the redwood forests, the northern and other parts of the country, Maynard said. ``The workers really felt they had fought a good fight and gotten the best conditions given the circumstances - then they turned around and made the Northern California agreements,'' Maynard said. Union members are discussing what action they can take before the next contract negotiations - which are more than two years away. Rhodes said he can't even begin to speculate what the next talks will bring but hopes it will be far less acrimonious. ``I don't think anyone would want to go through that pain and uncertainty again.'' Candice Choi, (818) 713-3634 candice.choi(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo, box Photo: (color) no caption (A picketing worker blocks a delivery truck) Box: THEN AND NOW SOURCE: Daily News research |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion