WAL-MART FIGHT INTENSIFIES.

Byline: Jim Skeen Staff Writer

PALMDALE - Angered at the rejection of their petition calling for a public vote on a proposed Wal-Mart store, food clerks union officials promised to go to court to force the city to put the issue before voters.

United Food and Commercial Workers Local 770 will file a writ of mandate in Los Angeles Superior Courton on Monday seeking to force the city to accept a petition seeking a vote on a general plan amendment made to accommodate a proposed Wal-Mart store.

The city rejected the petition, saying it did not comply with the state election code because the phrase ``Referendum Against an Ordinance Passed by the City Council'' was not included on each page, including the signature pages.

``They were looking for any reason to stop this from getting on the ballot,'' said Rod Diamond, executive assistant to the president and director of political affairs for UFCW Local 770. ``This is another example of the council trying to stop the voters of the community from voting yea or nay on the general plan change.''

State law is very specific on about the requirement for a title on each page, said City Attorney Matt Ditzhazy. The requirement is intended to prevent fraud or mistakes in the collection of signatures, he said.

``I believe proper disclosure is important,'' Mayor Jim Ledford said. ``It's important for people to know what they are signing.''

The union submitted a petition to the city containing more than 7,000 signatures. The petition had the words ``referendum against measure passed by the City Council of Palmdale. The undersigned hereby call for the following resolution to be put on the ballot for consideration by the voters, or repeal by the City Council'' printed at the top of the first page of a copy of the resolution the council approved.

The resolution and the signature pages were stapled together and there was no attempt to deceive anyone, Diamond said.

In a separate but related legal issue, a lawsuit was filed on behalf of a Palmdale resident stating the city did not do a proper review of environmental issues, including traffic, noise and air pollution, before approving the general plan amendment.

The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles, seeks to overturn the City Council's decision and force an environmental review.

The general plan amendment, approved March 8, changed 13 acres near Avenue S and 47th Street East earmarked for residential uses to a commercial designation. The land is part of a proposed 33-acre shopping center that would be anchored by a Wal-Mart store.

The store would be a regular Wal-Mart store, but plans allow for it to be expanded into a ``super'' Wal-Mart, which would have a full-service grocery store.

The union believes stores such as the super Wal-Marts run local grocers out of business and reduce wages and benefits for workers.

Wal-Mart is a nonunion store chain.

Wal-Mart is looking to open the store, which would be the second for Palmdale, because of customer demand, its officials say. To illustrate their belief the community wants the store, Wal-Mart started its own petition for customers to voice support for the east side project.

That petition collected more than 5,000 signatures in just 10 days.

As for the union's claims about wages and benefits, the Wal-Mart chain is competitive in those areas with other general merchandise stores, such as Kmart and Target, said Wal-Mart spokeswoman Cynthia Lin.

The company offers benefits for both full- and part-time employees, she said.

Wal-Mart also has a stack of letters from chambers of commerce throughout California stating the store chain has had positive impacts on their communities, she said.