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October 18, 2009 05:51 PM UTC

Where Will You Shop if There's a Strike?

  • 79 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

As you’ve probably heard, negotiations between the management of grocery store chains in Colorado and their unionized workers are set to resume Tuesday. A week ago, workers overwhelmingly rejected the latest proposed contract–reportedly a little better on longtime employees, though still forcing big cuts to worker’s pension benefits and not much else to workers without a great deal of seniority. The union maintains that with grocery stores posting solid, recession-proof profits, the cuts they propose are unacceptable.

It’s tough to know where these negotiations will lead; some say that a strike should have begun after the latest contract was rejected, but putting people on strike pay in an already tough economy is a lot to ask without assurances that it won’t drag on forever. The latest results don’t indicate that the recent leadership shake-up at the UFCW has weakened their position. The biggest question hasn’t changed in all the months we’ve been talking about this: how many Colorado residents care enough to honor a strike or punish management for a lockout? How many people will really alter their shopping habits to not cross a picket line?

In 1996, the last big grocery store labor dispute in Colorado, several things were different: for one thing there were fewer alternatives for grocery shopping than there are today. And there was no ability to distribute information as rapidly as the modern internet facilitates. But it’s an open question, in our view, as to whether or not the internet can be as helpful to unionized grocery workers as it was for, say, getting Barack Obama elected President.

Apropos, liberal activist group Progress Now sent an email to a very large number of people (we don’t know how many, but we got it in several mailboxes and Progress Now claims an email blast list of hundreds of thousands) yesterday asking for help identifying alternative grocery stores to publicize if there’s a strike or lockout. They’ve built a nifty lookup tool to help people find places to shop in their area–other than King Soopers, Safeway, and Albertson’s, of course.

And if they can send this information to hundreds of thousands of Colorado consumers directly, bypassing the Dean Singleton filter…a tool Jimmy Hoffa could only have dreamed of…

A poll follows: we’d like to get your honest assessment of this, not your personal preference. What, if anything, has changed the game since 1996? People around the nation, both pro- and anti-organized labor, are most interested in your opinion.

Are Coloradans more likely to support a strike today than they were in 1996?

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79 thoughts on “Where Will You Shop if There’s a Strike?”

  1. We’ll shop some at the local Orchard Mesa Market, an independent.  Unfortunately, we’ll also have to do much of our other shopping at WalMart.  There’s a Super Target that’s on my wife’s path to see her mom at the nursing home, so maybe they’ll get some of our money too.  Too bad farm-stand season will be over after the first hard freeze, or I’d do all my produce shopping at the local stand.  I pretty much already do between June and October.

    I hate to see WalMart make money off the backs of union workers who would never be allowed to unionize if they worked there, but there simply aren’t that many choices here.  

    2. We actually pulled this together in the spring when it looked like a strike was imminent, and we had an intern look for independents and put together a long list. But I spot checked it and found a lot of bad data (not his fault, it was superpages.com’s bad info). As a result, that list is not integrated into the map yet,

      So that’s why we sent this e-mail out– to crowd source that list of independents. Because there are a lot of stores out there, the Greek one in my neighborhood by example, that aren’t even listed in the paper yellow pages, let alone have websites.

  2. Although their produce is just average at best.  

    And their never-quite-in-time inventory system sometimes leads to maddingly empty shelves when I’m looking for fairly standard items.

    My favorite store is the King Soopers at U-Hills.

    1. I’ll shop at COSTCO and there is a new Sprouts store close by. I’m going to honor the strike until it’s over.  Go workers!

      I will not shop at Wal-Mart. Ick it’s not my cup of tea. I haven’t set foot in one of their stores for a few years now and I haven’t even noticed. COSTCO and the farmers market give me the best deals and occasionally I shop at the grocery stores. I try and go to the union stores.

        1. From Wikipedia,

          While some former Price Club locations in California and the northeastern United States are staffed by Teamsters, the majority of Costco locations are not unionized. The non-union locations have revisions to their Costco Employee Agreement every three years concurrent with union contract ratifications in locations with collective bargaining agreements. Similar to a union contract, the Employee Agreement sets forth such things as benefits, compensations, wages, disciplinary procedures, paid holidays, bonuses, and seniority.

  4. Sorry to the workers, but I’ll continue food shopping as before.  Some of that is at Super Target, other parts at King Soopers.  If people think I’m going to pay literally twice at King Soopers or Safeway or Albertsons for the exact same item at Super Target, they are wrong.

    1. if you’re paying twice as much at Soopers you don’t know how to shop!  But I won’t cross any picket line.  And shopping SuperTarget is actually what Soopers employees suggested to me in case of a strike so keep your shirt on.

      1. There are plenty of items that are much more expensive at King Soopers/Safeway/Albertsons then they are at Super Target (and, I would presume, Walmart).  Same exact item.  I simply don’t purchase them there.  And that, incidentally, is a large reason why Walmart and Target have been able to do so well in the grocery arena.  For all the crying by the grocery stores about how small their profits are, Walmart and Target manage to make money doing them, at prices that are usually much lower than the grocery chains.  

        Picket line?  I don’t care–if people think that their arguing over a buck an hour is enough to incite moral outrage on my part, they are wrong.  And I think most of the population feels the same way.  Especially now–most people will think they’re lucky to have jobs–and they’ll be right.  

        1. shopping for sale items and never said that you can get any specific thing for the same price on any specific day. You certainly don’t have to spend anywhere near twice as much if you look for the weekly bargains. Clearly you don’t care for unions or workers. I do.  I also know how to shop.  

          1. my not knowing how to shop.  😉

            On average, the same item at Super Target or Walmart is significantly less than the identical item at King Soopers, Safeway, or Albertsons.  Why is that?

            1. On average, the same item at Super Target or Walmart is significantly less than the identical item at King Soopers, Safeway, or Albertsons.  Why is that?

              Ummm, sweatshop wages and ultra-stingy benefits?

              Or could it be Wal-Mart’s business practices, such as:

              Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, forced employees in Oregon to work unpaid overtime between 1994 and 1999, a federal jury found…

              Thirty-nine other class-action lawsuits are pending against the company in 30 states. Those suits, from California to New York, involve hundreds of thousands of workers seeking tens of millions in back pay.

              Wal-Mart settled two similar overtime cases in Colorado and New Mexico.

              The company reportedly paid $50 million two years ago to settle an off-the-clock lawsuit covering 69,000 workers in Colorado, and it recently settled for $500,000 a case involving 120 workers in Gallup, N.M.

              http://www.cbsnews.com/stories…

              Seems Wal-Mart is quite adept at lowering their labor costs, in its incessant effort to increase market share via slightly lower prices.  

              1. what?  

                You’re missing the larger point–there are companies out there who sell the identical item for a lot less money than the three grocery chains.  

                1. that the unions are asking people to shop at Target instead of the grocery store chains during any possible strike, and you keep saying, “Well screw you unions, I’m gonna shop at Target!”

                  Which everyone around here finds rather confusing, for good reason.

                  1. I said in my first comment that “I’ll continue my food shopping as before.”  Part of that involves Target, part of it involves (usually) King Soopers.  I don’t care if people are picketing; they will have zero influence on how and where I buy groceries.  

                    Are you caught up now?

                    1. you sure are concerned about what people think of your shopping habits.

                      By the way, this sounds like the comment of someone who’s confused about the issues, or at least about grammar:

                      If people think I’m going to pay literally twice at King Soopers or Safeway or Albertsons for the exact same item at Super Target, they are wrong.

            2. Didn’t I specifically state I’m not talking about a particular given item on a particular day? And I’m not saying you can’t, in general, spend less at a Walmart than a King Sooper.  I’m just saying there is no need to spend anywhere close to twice as much while avoiding stores like Walmart…never mind.  It’s like talking to a piece of toast.

    2. Seriously. A number of years ago they started selling basic staples like milk at the prevailing major grocery store price. The other day I bought a gallon of milk for $2.50, which is in between the price of the generic and the Meadow Gold at King Soopers.

    3. Besides it’s only a matter of time before the big guys are going down.  You can’t remove an entire middleclass from a society and expect your profits will go on as they have in the past. It’s called the New Gilded Age

      Wait for the new foreclosures to hit he, he. These people are strategically allowing the banks to foreclose on their homes because it doesn’t make sense to keep making payments on a house that has no equity and that you can’t sell.  It’s the next wave and it’s the banks fault for artificially inflating the values of properties and then giving loans on those inflated values.  Yep they got themselves in a pickle for sure.

  5. Even if you avoid Whole Foods (like I’m doing due to their CEO’s health care douchebaggery), there are a bunch of smaller grocery stores like Lolita’s, Delilah’s, and Bova’s near me. Plus Lucky’s up north is independent as well, and Sunflower in the east is part of a chain but still respectable.

      1. I might venture down to whole foods too.

        By the way anyone notice we’re in a recession …. strikes don’t go over that well in these times, just ask the Canadians.

        1. does 99% of the shopping and it consists of Walmart and King Soopers.

          If King Soopers goes on strike, who cares? They will have plenty of other people lined up who actually appreciate having a job to fill in for them.

          We shop where the sales are. Couldn’t care less about their union problems. Do they care that everyone at my company lost a dollar and hour six months ago and still haven’t got it back? Are they boycotting my place of business until we get back to 40 hours a week and full pay?

          I doubt it.

            1. Professional Anti-union hater, who works for the grocery industry posting bogus websites and ads.

              Nigerian Spam emails have more integrity than this assclown.

              1. http://www.sourcewatch.org/ind…

                Some of his other campaigns that he made BIG bucks on were….

                “Pregnant Women Need To Eat More Fish with mercury”

                http://www.fishscam.com/

                “PETA kills more animals than Michael Vick”

                http://www.petakillsanimals.com/

                “Net neutrality is killing the internet”

                http://www.handsoff.org/blog/

                “Fatty Foods aren’t Bad For You”

                http://www.cspiscam.com/

                “Drinking and Driving is OK , as long as you do it responsibily”

                http://www.responsibledrinker….

                “Increasing the Minimum Wage Stops Kids From Getting Summer Jobs”

                http://www.epionline.org/index…

                And a few more….

                    1. Hell #7 just demonstrated some corrective action … thank God there was at least some effort to protect the forced union members!

                      But evidence still points to protection of seniortiy … the grocer contracts protect some at the expense of the newer workers.

                      The Right-to-Work would really help Union members get the most from their Unions.

  7. That’s where I did most of my shopping during the last strike even though it took a lot of planning and some driving.

    If I were in Denver, it would be mostly Sunflower Market.  Oh, wait, it already was when I still lived there.

    BTW, fall finally came to the bayou. Had to turn the furnace on for a few minutes this AM. I’m digging it……

  10. For years I have shopped exclusively at stores with a broad selection of organic products. I heard there was some liberal boycott of Whole Foods but I don’t know what it was about.

    Sometimes I hit Vitamin Cottage for produce and supplements.

    I belong to an organic farming co-op for buying local, grass-fed beef, natural chicken and eggs. Tastes like heaven.

    I can’t stand King Soopers and Safeway and COSTCO — all that crap packed to the rafters, all that corn-syrup soda, all inedible, un-digestable calorie wads people mistake for food.

    We need a new, healthier, local model of shopping, food distribution and food production in this country.

    If a strike can help bring that about, I’m all for it. But I already avoid the merchants of corporate, government subsidized, petroleum-based corn product.

      1. If your flatus is only the result of organic, grass-fed beef, natural chicken and locally grown in season vegetables (nine servings a day!), and hasn’t the faintest trace of government subsidized, petroleum-based corn product — why, you’d be an arrogant ass not to admire its aroma. Smells like heaven.

  11. I will not shop at a store under strike by its workers, and I try to avoid Whole Foods since its CEO weighed in against real health care reform. But all my family’s prescriptions are at Soopers, and I am wondering whether there is any way of transferring them all at once to another store – Target? Rite Aid? Anyone have advice?

    1. at the new store, they can take care of contacting your current pharmacy and having your prescriptions transferred. There are also smaller, independent pharmacies in a lot of medical buildings, but if you’re comparing prices, Rite-Aid is probably a good bet.

      1. Are pharmacists going on strike, if there’s a strike or lockout? Maybe someone can clear up the matter of all the smaller, independent businesses now located inside supermarkets — I often do banking at a 1st Bank branch at King Soopers (because they’re open later than my main branch), and last month got a flu shot at the little clinic that recently opened there (easier than making an appointment at doctor’s office). I’m assuming all these operations are on the wrong side of a picket line but would like to hear some discussion on that.

        1. Generally speaking, Denver area pharmacists at King Soopers and Safeway are not union, but pharmacy technicians are union.

          At some Denver area Albertsons stores, pharmacies are entirely non-union.

          One might expect that pharmacists at King Soopers and Safeway will be working very long hours during any strike/company lockout, in order to make up for the loss of so many certified pharmacy workers. Delays may result.

          Disclosure: i currently work for the grocery workers. I’m offering my own personal opinion here.

    3. I have read that a person does not have to be a member of Costco to use the pharmacy there. Just tell the person at the door that’s where you’re going.

  12. though I normally rely heavily on the King Soopers in walking distance of my home.  Whole Foods is also in walking distande,but a lot more expensive.

    1. The stores won’t close if there’s a strike. Safeway and Soopers have hires scabs to work there.

      Taking your business elsewhere supports the workers.

    2. The idea is that it’s better to temporarily support someone else, even if it’s non-union, while a worker-management dispute is ongoing. Presumably if the dispute were resolved in the workers’ favor, they would encourage people to go back to shopping at those grocery stores.

      What’s confusing about this? It’s the way every strike goes all the time. Do you know how a strike normally works?  

      1. it seems logical that they’d do their shopping at a unionized alternative…not god-awful target.  Even if it’s not unionized, at least at an alternative that doesn’t treat their employees like shit…as Target does.  I say that as a not-so-proud wearer of the red and khaki during college.  It’s a shitty place to work.

        “Temporarily supporting someone else” is one thing.  Temporarily supporting someone that screws their employees is another…

        1. if you could suggest to us a unionized alternative. As it is, with the grocery unions explicitly telling people they’d rather have us supporting non-union stores than their own management, the pro-union thing to do is what they’re asking us to do.

          Nobody is arguing that supporting Target in the long term is good for unions or workers generally.

        2. I don’t like Target either but I do go there occasionally. I try to support Costco as they do treat their employees well.  I also support the farmers at the farmers markets but many of them are against their own interests.  You have to pick your battles but supporting the union by not crossing the picket line is a way for the middleclass to show we’re pissed off and not going to take it anymore. Go union workers! You’re the best for fighting for our rights as workers.  

    3. I asked employees to suggest stores they would recommend.  It’s not a matter of gung ho. Target and CostCo have reputations for treating workers much better than do Walmart and Sam’s Club. And we have to shop somewhere if all three unionized markets go on strike.

      1. The inability to come to an agreement in the worst economic downturn since the Depression shouldn’t be celebrated.

        I still don’t see that grocery workers have much of a position of strength to bargain from.

        1. with people eating out less and at home more.  They are more, not less, profitable and don’t need to screw workers to maintain a healthy bottom line. They see the downturn(not a downturn for them) as a great excuse to do what corporations do best: beat workers into submission.

          A Wall Street recovery that leaves out the Main Street middle class is fine with them.  More desperate people to exploit for cheap labor. A recovery for the middle class will only take place when well paying jobs with good benefits return.  Until then we just keep marching towards third world status. Plenty of those countries have always managed to combine growing GDPs with no benefit to 99% of their people either.

          Welcome to the USA without strong unions.  They built the biggest most prosperous middle class on earth and all of you union busters are doing a great job of returning us to the good old gilded (for a tiny minority) age.   99% of you will no doubt be unpleasantly surprised to wind up on the wrong side of the new reality with barely enough to get by no matter how low those low prices go.  But at least nobody will be able to accuse you of being a socialist.    

    1. (Please see disclaimer, below.)

      I understand that a challenge has been filed. I don’t know the details.

      The mechanics of the election involve not only the Local, which supplies a list of all members, but also the UFCW International, and (i believe) at least two outside companies relied upon for printing and mailing the ballots. I have heard that more than a thousand members reported not receiving ballots. It has been reported that thirteen percent of the membership did cast votes.

      My own belief is that elections are rarely overturned. But it would be very interesting to learn if there was a particular reason so many members report not having received ballots. At least some of these have told me that they get all the other union mail, so perhaps the “bad addresses” conjecture can be dismissed.

      The most important issue for staff is, and must be, getting a good contract for the members. Much of the media attention surrounding the election has been a distraction from that overriding goal.

      Disclaimer: i am not in any sense a spokesperson for the UFCW, i’m just on the UFCW staff. My observations here are my own personal viewpoint.  

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