Unions put out unwelcome mat to Wal-Mart food stores.

Facing a looming incursion by Wal-Mart Stores Inc. that's already eating away at its bargaining power, the union representing Southern California's grocery store workers has launched a multi-pronged counterattack.

The tactics include sponsorship of a "living-wage" ordinance that would force Wal-Mart to pay higher wages and health benefits to workers at the so-called super centers it s plans to open in Los Angeles, along with grass-roots action to stir up opposition to new stores.

These efforts tap into a growing image problem facing Wal-Mart around the country, as its stores are increasingly seen as competition-killers providing only dead-end jobs. The company has even hired a consultant to examine its image and is launching an advertising campaign that portrays Wal-Mart as a good place to work.

"Wal-Mart is the worst retailer in the nation," said Rick Icaza, president of the United Food & Commercial Workers Union Local 770 in L.A. "They are predators. They compete on a basis of providing low wages and (almost) no benefits."

Within the next three to four years, the Bentonville, Ark.-based retail giant plans to open 40 super centers statewide. The stores, staffed with non-union workers, add an oversize grocery section to the traditional layout of clothing, sporting goods and household appliances. One store that could be expanded to a super center is slated to open in Inglewood.

In labor negotiations scheduled to begin this week, the region's major grocery store chains, including Ralphs, Albertsons Inc. and Vons, have told the union that they will demand concessions on pension and health care benefits, in pall due to competition they expect from Wal-Mart.

The negotiations are expected to be contentious, as union representatives have vowed to resist any takeaways.

Beyond the negotiating table, the union is spearheading a drive to force Wal-Mart to pay the city's living wage of $9.82 per hour, plus health benefits, to workers at any super center they may open in the city of Los Angeles.

The L.A. City Council's Housing Community and Economic Development Committee, chaired by Councilman Eric Garcetti, has asked staff attorneys to draw up the so-called "big box ordinance" that would affect all grocery retail locations at least 150,000 square feet.

"We want Wal-Mart, Costco and Target in Los Angeles but we want them on our terms," Garcetti said. "We don't want to see our supermarkets, which are the anchors for our neighborhood shopping centers, go under. We've spent a lot of taxpayer money developing them."

Union target

The language won't specifically mention Wal-Mart, but the target is clear.

Plans call for the super centers to be 200,000-220,000 square feet each, with the grocery component comprising a little more than a third of the space. A typical chain grocery store is 20,000 to 60,000 square feet.

Currently, Wal-Mart pays an average of $7.50 an hour to its employees, while unionized and non-union grocery store workers average $8.71, according to union officials.

"Wal-Mart across the country has a track record of providing very little in the way of wages and benefits," said Kathy Finn, the union's director of collective bargaining research and education. "(The proposed ordinance) requires that Wal-Mart and other big box stores operate on a level playing field."

Wal-Mart already has 1,258 super centers in all but six states--California is one of the last frontiers--making it the nation's largest grocery sales operation.

It is not known how many of the super centers will open inside of L.A. city limits, adding to the traditional retail stores that already exist in the Baldwin Hills, Potter Ranch and Panorama City.

So far, the company has made public plans to build super centers in Bakersfield, Calexico, Chico, Gilroy, La Quinta and Palm Desert.

Additionally, the Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy, a coalition of unions, community groups and academics, believes one super center is slated for the southeast corner of 90th Street and Prairie Avenue in Inglewood.

Wal-Mart officials said the store would be a regular outlet with expansion capabilities that could make it a super center.

A major protest is already in the works, prompting Wal-Mart officials to charge the union has ulterior motives.

"The union's membership has been dwindling over the years," said Peter Kanelos, community affairs manager for Wal-Mart's southwest region. "They are looking for ways to increase their membership and protect their market share by eliminating competition."

He added that Wal-Mart is being singled out despite the fact that big-box retailers like Home Depot and Target also use a non-union workforce. Like Wal-Mart, Costco is non-union and sells food items, but it doesn't sell enough single-package items to be subject to the L.A. ordinance as it is currently envisioned.

LAANE is lobbying against the Inglewood project on the grounds that the small retailers going out of business will offset any gains in property tax revenues received by Inglewood.

"Wal-Mart has had the most devastating impact on small businesses in other parts of the country," said Roxana Tynan, director of accountable development at LAANE. "Our other concern is that Wal-Mart doesn't provide employer-paid health insurance."

Chains' reaction

Wal-Mart has expanded rapidly since opening its first super center 15 years ago in Washington, Mo.

The area's major chains, including Vons. owned by Safeway Co., Ralphs, owned by Kroger Co., Albertsons Inc. or Stater Bros. Markets, appear to be mobilizing in anticipation of any Wal-Mart incursion by seeking reductions in their own labor costs.

"Virtually all costs of (Wal-Mart's) health care benefits as well as pension benefits are paid by the employees," said John Schroeder, vice president of human resources and labor relations for Ralphs.

Wal-Mart officials claim that regional chains are quite successful when matched against their stores. "The multi-billion-dollar grocery chains such as Albertsons, Ralphs and Vons are competing effectively in other markets where super centers have been built," said Kanelos.

The propaganda war will heat up in the coming months.

To combat charges that super centers are bad for other businesses, Wal-Mart has commissioned the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. to conduct a study projecting the chain's impact to L.A.

Results are expected next month, according to Wally Baker, the organization's director of consulting, who would not reveal preliminary findings. (Business Journal Publisher Matthew Toledo is chairman of the LAEDC.)

Fearing conclusions that are favorable to Wal-Mart, LAANE has the city's community development department preparing a separate report that will be ready the following month.

It is unlikely a large number of the 40 planned super centers will be sited regionally because available land is sparse here.

"The big challenge for them is finding sites," said Jack Kyser, senior economist for the LAEDC. "There are just not too many parcels of 20 to 25 acres sitting around L.A. County."