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Sacramento Bee, March 21, 2006
In a response to the harsh new realities of the grocery business, the union representing supermarket workers in greater Sacramento plans to merge with its Fresno counterpart.
The tentative agreement between Roseville Local 588 and Fresno Local 1288 of the United Food and Commercial Workers is an effort to increase bargaining power in an era of contract concessions.
The merged entity would be called Local 8-Golden State and would be run by Jacques Loveall, president of Local 588.
The merger would "bring more clout to the bargaining table," Loveall and Local 1288 President Don Hunsucker said in identically worded letters to their members.
Neither Loveall nor Hunsucker could be reached for comment.
Local 588 represents 23,000 workers, while Local 1288 represents nearly 8,000.
The combined local, spanning 40 counties, would be the West's largest UFCW entity, according to a news statement from Local 588.
Ken Jacobs, a labor expert at the University of California, Berkeley, said UFCW locals probably have to merge or find other ways of coordinating efforts to cope with the economic pressures bearing down on the industry.
"There's no question that the supermarket locals are going to need to combine their leverage in order to have greater negotiating power," Jacobs said.
The issue was spotlighted in the massive Southern California grocery strike, which began in October 2003.
The strike was settled five months later with the workers accepting significant concessions.
The strike had all the ingredients for a union success, Jacobs said. The workers stayed together and, for the most part, persuaded customers to honor the picket lines.
But the supermarket chains had grown so large, with revenue streams from all over the country, that they could stand firm against the union, Jacobs said.
"In recent years we have seen the major employers consolidate their power, becoming multibillion-dollar international corporations," Local 588 said in its release. "Growing our own strength through solidarity will help us compete better against such significant corporate resources."
Following the Southern California settlement, UFCW locals in Sacramento and elsewhere also agreed to concessions. However, the Sacramento contract, signed in January 2005, is considered more favorable to labor than the Southern California settlement.
Loveall has said he wouldn't accept any more concessions, but many believe the stores will continue to press for lower labor costs.
Local 588's contract expires in fall 2007; it's not clear when Local 1288's contract comes up.
Growth by acquisition is in Local 588's blood. The unit increased from 9,000 members in 1984 to 23,000 members today in large part because of mergers engineered by Loveall's father, former local President Jack Loveall.
The latest merger, which takes effect May 1, requires approval of memberships of both locals. A mail ballot is under way.
The supermarkets have said they need concessions to compete against the likes of nonunion discounter Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which is just starting to make inroads in California.
Some of the big unionized grocers have been struggling. Ralphs Grocery Co. recently announced it is closing all eight Sacramento-area stores, eliminating 400 jobs. Albertson's Inc., beset by declining profits, agreed to be sold.
Some analysts believe the buyer of the Northern California stores, a Wall Street investment firm, is planning some store closures. The firm denies it.
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