TEAMSTERS PICKET KROGER WAREHOUSE

ELLIOT ZWIEBACH

PHOENIX -- The National Labor Relations Board here has issued a complaint against Kroger Co., Cincinnati, that seeks to require the company to restore operations at its Tolleson, Ariz., distribution center as they existed prior to Sept. 7, the day Kroger signed a letter of intent for a third party, CSI Retail Services, Secaucus, N.J., to run the facility.

The NLRB said it has scheduled a local hearing for Jan. 18 on the matter, during which an administrative law judge will listen to arguments from Kroger and Teamsters Local 104 here.

According to Andy Marshall, president of Local 104, the complaint indicates that Fred Meyer, Inc.; Fry's Food Stores, and Smith's Food & Drug Centers -- all Kroger operations in Arizona -- are interchangeable entities of the same company, which Marshall said gives the union the right to spread picketing to Kroger warehouses nationwide without it constituting a secondary boycott.

"We're willing to send pickets anywhere there's a Kroger facility," Marshall told SN, "and we're meeting with union members in other areas where Kroger operates to determine where and when that will occur. But we haven't made any decisions yet."

The Teamsters have been picketing on a round-the-clock basis at the Tolleson facility since early October.

In the NLRB complaint, the board said it believes Kroger violated the National Labor Relations Act by pursuing unfair labor practices and refusing to bargain collectively with the union here, which was negotiating with the chain to represent warehouse employees at the time the Tolleson facility was sold to the third party, CSI.

The complaint also charges that CSI has engaged in unfair labor practices by refusing to recognize and bargain with the union and for interfering with and coercing employees who sought to keep union negotiations open.

Gary Rhodes, a Kroger spokesperson, told SN the complaint "is not a finding on the merits of the points raised by the union or the company. It is a finding that there is 'probable cause' to go forward with hearing the issues raised by the union."

He said Kroger "strongly disagrees" with the NLRB's decision to issue the complaint, "but the complaint is not an indication of culpability by the company. It is strictly a regional labor board finding that the issues raised should be heard by a court. We are confident that when the matter is heard in a court of law, the company will prevail."

CSI officials have previously indicated they will not comment on the matter.