KROGER'S UNION PACT IN TEXAS SIMILAR TO CALIFORNIA MODEL 2004-05-17 (2)

MARK HAMSTRA / Additional reporting: Jon Springer

HOUSTON -- The president of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 455 here told SN last week the 20-week labor dispute in Southern California that ended in February influenced the direction of the talks between his local and Kroger, Cincinnati.

Local 455 clerks, along with meat-cutters from UFCW Local 408, also based here, last week ratified a new, three-year agreement with provisions similar to those adopted in California, he said.

The contracts, which covered about 10,000 workers at 106 stores, had expired April 3. As was the case in California, a federal mediator assisted in the negotiations.

"Obviously, it was a difficult negotiation, but we were glad to reach a peaceful resolution," Hopkins told SN.

In a prepared statement, Kroger said the company and union were "extremely pleased they came to agreement on new contracts.

Both sides believe the contracts will balance the need of the associates for competitive wages and benefits, with Kroger's need to address the significant economic and competitive challenges facing its business."

A Kroger spokesman declined to discuss terms of the agreement.

In an interview with SN, Hopkins said the union was able to preserve health care and pension benefits for current workers while sacrificing some benefits for new hires.

"By and large, the majority of the funds are going toward health care," he said, although he said Kroger had agreed to wage increases of about 90 cents per hour over the life of the three-year contract.

Like the new contract in California, the one in Houston calls for new hires to contribute to their insurance costs when they become eligible. Existing employees will not be asked to contribute unless it proves necessary to maintain the health care fund in the final year of the contract.

One difference between the Houston agreement and the one in California is that Kroger's contribution to the health care fund is the same for both current employees and new hires. In Southern California, the employers contribute less for new hires.

Hopkins said the union is also working on restructuring the contract for workers at 11 Kroger stores in Louisiana.

Other talks under way involve Safeway-owned Dominick's in Chicago; Kroger stores in the Louisville, Ky., area; and Safeway, Albertsons and Kroger-owned QFC and Fred Meyer stores in the Seattle area.

The Dominick's agreement expired in November 2002, but the two sides only recently returned to the bargaining table after pausing while Safeway sought to sell the chain.

The Louisville contract expired April 10, and the Seattle contracts expired May 2.

In connection with the Seattle-area talks, Top Food & Drug, a 16-store division of Haggen, Bellingham, Wash., last week reached interim agreements with three local unions to avoid any labor actions while the talks are proceeding with larger chains in the area, a company spokeswoman told SN. The locals represent 900 of Top's 950 union employees.

The agreement assures that employees at 11 Top Food & Drug stores will continue working under their current contract until a new labor deal is reached between the UFCW and the larger chains. It also assures Tops will not lock its workers out in the event of a strike, the spokeswoman said.