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Grocery talks extended again

By Jake Batsell
Seattle Times business reporter

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The current contract, which had been set to expire in early May, has been extended twice in the past month as the two sides bargain over health benefits and wages for more than 16,000 workers at Safeway, Albertsons, QFC and Fred Meyer.

Late last week, representatives of the grocery chains and the United Food and Commercial Workers extended the contract for three more weeks and agreed to meet six more times, with talks resuming Monday and scheduled to continue through July 7.

Union officials have warned that if the two sides cannot reach a deal, the Seattle area could see a labor dispute similar to the recent grocery strike and lockout that lasted 18 weeks in Southern California. The chains, meanwhile, have advertised for temporary replacement workers.

As in California, the key issue is health-care costs, which the group of employers says have jumped more than 73 percent since the last contract was negotiated in 2001. The companies pay 100 percent of workers' health-care premiums. Employees cover co-pays and deductibles.

The grocers' initial proposal for the new contract called for employees to pay a share of their health-care premiums.

It also proposed a two-tier salary system in which new employees would be paid less than veterans. Union officials said the proposal amounted to $500 million in cuts over the three-year contract.

On Friday, the UFCW submitted a counterproposal that it said would save companies $120 million by, among other things, increasing employees' co-pays and assigning new hires to an HMO for their first year of coverage.

"It's a start — and a good start," said Melinda Merrill, a spokeswoman for the grocery chains. "Their proposal acknowledges that there needs to be changes, and that really is encouraging. The employers still want to explore ways to lower the cost of health benefits, but this is a good step."

Sharon McCann, president of UFCW Local 1105, said she is disappointed that the grocery chains haven't embraced the union's latest offer or amended their initial proposal.

"We gave them $120 million in savings, and they still have that $500 million sitting on the table," McCann said.
 
McCann said she remains hopeful the two sides can avoid a strike, but she said union officials are frustrated with the pace of the negotiations.

"I would rather have my members working in the stores than walking the picket line," McCann said. "(But) there is going to come a point where (extending talks) is going to be an act of futility."

Jake Batsell: 206-464-2718 or jbatsell@seattletimes.com