What is in this article?:
- UFCW Calls for Strike at Raley’s
- Contract Issues
“It is unfortunate that after 15 months of talks and nearly 60 negotiation sessions, we were not able to agree on a new contract.”
— Michael Teel, president and CEO, Raley's
Contract Issues
According to Raley’s, the contract it wants to implement runs for three years, with a two-year wage freeze and a wage re-opener in the third year; it also eliminates Sunday and holiday premiums — terms already imposed at Raley’s non-union stores, Teel noted.
In contrast with a contract covering Save Mart employees, the Raley’s contract does not eliminate one week of paid vacation nor four paid holidays, he pointed out.
The contract also provides employees with the same health and welfare plan as other union employees at Raley’s, including maintenance of current benefits for two years; a pre-65 retiree health and welfare component; a sick-leave plan; and a re-opener after two years.
“By implementing this new health care plan and eliminating Sunday and holiday premiums, we gain the savings we need to compete in the future,” Teel explained.
In a letter last week to union employees, Teel said, “Know that Raley’s did not want to implement our final offer. But if the union is not going to allow you to vote, we cannot continue to suffer economic harm and be forced to close more stores.”
More news: Raley's Names Konkel to Operations Post
Henneberry told SN the chain’s “last and final” offer was worse than the previous offer. “It was so regressive that we did not want to ask the members to vote on it,” he explained.
Jacques Loveall, president of UFCW Local 8, said the contract Raley’s wants to implement “imposes unacceptable concessions on its union workers.”
Safeway, Pleasanton, Calif., is continuing to talk with the union about a new contract.
Employees at Modesto, Calif.-based Save Mart represented by UFCW Local 8 approved a new agreement during the summer, while the executive board of UFCW Local 5 opted to ratify the same agreement on its own in early September on behalf of the Save Mart workers it represents.
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