October 30, 2009 07:10 PM UTC

Grocery Strike--Anyone Know What's Going On?

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• by: Colorado Pols

To be honest we don’t any more, so we’ll just throw up the latest report from the Colorado Springs Gazette and hopefully one of you in-the-know types can tell the group.

Unionized grocery workers in Colorado are questioning why their international union has not yet approved a strike against Safeway despite assurances last week by a top international official that it would be granted “in a day or two.”

A posting on the Web site of United Food and Commercial Workers union Local 7 asks “Why has the international union not yet granted final strike sanction?” after stating that “all of the requirements set out by the international union have been met.” The posting refers to requirements included in a Sept. 15 letter sent to Local 7 President Ernest Duran from UFCW President Joseph Hansen that included a vote of Local 7’s members at Safeway and a formal request from Local 7 for approval.

Local 7’s bargaining committee sought the approval after talks with Safeway and King Soopers broke down Oct. 20, the only negotiating session after more than 90 percent of union members voted to reject “final” offers from both chains and authorize a strike against Safeway…

Hansen’s letter included some caveats. He called Local 7 bargaining methods, which involve a 200-person bargaining committee, “unique and non-traditional” and stated that Local 7 must resume talks if it learns that “additional bargaining may resolve the matters at issue,” even if the strike has already been approved. He also added he and UFCW Secretary-Treasurer Anthony Perrone believe that “pension issues in particular are best addressed through a negotiated settlement.”

The letter also warns that “failure to seek a negotiated settlement prior to engaging in a strike will ultimately impact (Local 7’s) final strike authorization,” which Hansen said in the letter must come from Williamson, who heads a regional office based near Chicago.

So, what does this mean, folks? Given all the circumstances that are in play right now, from the recent internal power struggle and leadership ouster at the UFCW local to the novel resources lined up to assist workers in the event of a strike…well, we suppose it could mean a few different things, and only a few people really know for sure. Perhaps you’re one of them, and if so you’ve got our undivided attention.