UFCW Calls for Strike at Raley’s
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Two Northern California locals of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union have launched a strike against Raley’s Supermarkets here, citing management’s decision last week to unilaterally implement a new contract.
Raley’s said on the first day of the strike nearly half of its union employees were crossing picket lines and coming to work.
It also said it was keeping its stores open and operating “while getting product to the stores.”
Two days’ worth of negotiations between the union and the chain — in the presence of a federal mediator, Greg Lim — broke down over the weekend, prompting UFCW Local 5 and Local 8-Golden State to call for a strike at midnight Nov. 4 at Raley’s and its Nob Hill subsidiary.
The union said the strike has the support of the UFCW International and a variety of other unions.
The main issues in the dispute, according to the union, are “Raley’s insistence to diminish workers’ ability to provide their families with health care; the refusal to fund retiree medical benefits; and the demand that workers give up their right to Sunday and premium pay.
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