GROCERY WORKERS READY TO OK PACT.

Byline: Nicholas Grudin Staff Writer

As 59,000 grocery clerks from San Diego to Bakersfield begin voting today on a new contract, the big three supermarket chains will start facing the chaotic aftermath of a 20-week strike and lockout that has cost them more than $2 billion in revenue and perhaps lost them thousands of shoppers for good.

With the contract likely to be ratified over the weekend by strike-weary workers, Ralphs, Vons and Albertsons face firing thousands of replacement workers, mending relations with the strikers when they return to their jobs next week and finding ways to woo back shoppers.

``Can you imagine the enormity of having to put all those workers back who have been on strike and locked out, knowing that you really don't know how soon business is going to come back?'' said Rick Icaza, president of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 770, the largest of seven local unions involved in the labor dispute.

Clerks spending their last hours on the picket lines Friday expressed excitement and dread as they anticipated the first few weeks back at work.

``It's going to be really hectic - we're going to have produce orders on top of dairy orders on top of grocery orders. It will be chaos,'' said George Bosey of Tarzana, who has worked at the Sherman Oaks Pavilions for eight years.

But the real difficulty will not be in stocking shelves or moving boxes.

It will be in organizing tired and bitter workers and ``making them do it with a smile,'' said grocery store expert Phil Lempert, editor of SupermarketGuru.com.

``This is going to be the most pressure-packed week of the strike for the stores. They're doing the politicking now so that when the employees come into the store, they're coming in with a smile on their face - it's going to be very tough.''

Officials for Vons did not return calls, and a Ralphs spokesman declined to comment.

Some employees said they will carry a lot of anger and resentment back into the workplace. Others are concerned they will not be able to forgive the workers who crossed the picket lines and went back to work. These tensions, and other factors, could lead to layoffs and transfers.

``Dealing with the people who have crossed the picket lines who are now our co-workers will be really tough,'' said Yvonne Vigliotta, picket captain at a Valencia Pavilions, where about 20 out of 100 employees went back to work prior to the end of the strike.

``All they want us to say is, 'I'm glad to be back,' but I think my eyes are going to roll back in my head when I say that.''

Elsewhere, workers feel layoffs are imminent.

``Our store director said there's only going to be pre-packaged meat now - that means no more meat cutters. My husband's a meat cutter,'' said Carol Sardella of Sylmar, who has worked at Ralphs for 27 years.

But before the clerks go back to work, they must vote on a contract that might not live up to their expectations.

According to United Food and Commercial Workers union leaders and supermarket officials, the contract will preserve affordable health care, but concedes several of the demands that the companies made from the beginning such as a lower compensation bracket for new employees and less comprehensive health benefit plans. Details of the contract will be released after the membership vote.

Nonetheless, pickets said, they will probably vote to go back to work regardless of what the contract says.

``You wonder what the contract is going to say. I'm sure it will be a unanimous vote, but we're all scared,'' said Vigliotta.

Added Bosey, the Tarzana Pavilions' worker: ``We will ask questions (about the contract), but it will pass. We stood out here, but we are like ants - we follow the head ant with a bit of bread.''

UFCW International President Doug Dority said that Southern California's workers are ``genuine heroes.''

``Through their service, the striking and locked out workers have performed a service for the whole county,'' Dority said.

Workers hoped they didn't ``perform the service'' in vain.

``We just hope the agreement is enough so that after five months we're not slapped in the face,'' said Joyce Jackson at a Sherman Oaks Pavilions.

All seven Southern California locals will have completed their polling by Sunday evening, and the final vote will likely be tallied then, according to Rod Diamond, secretary-treasurer for the UFCW Local 770.

After Sunday, there will be a three-day waiting period before workers go back to their jobs, according to union sources. And after they return to work, the next set of challenges will arise.

Nicholas Grudin, [phone]

nicholas.grudin(at)dailynews.com