Food store stocks up on staff for strike
Sat, 11/07/2009 - 02:21
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Herald/Review
SIERRA VISTA — At least one of two large grocery store chains with stores in Sierra Vista is preparing for a possible labor strike by advertising for temporary hires.
The United Food and Commercial Workers Local 99 remains locked in negotiations with both Safeway Inc. and Fry’s Food Stores over health care costs for employees.
Union members could walk out as soon as Friday if no deal is struck.
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Unions do nothing more than drive up the price of the employee, the product,
and the cost to hire replacement workers. Unions are supposed to protect the
employees, but do nothing more than take away the rights of the employees and
force them to strike if the union wants to make a point.
I don’t believe unions are great today. This union is being quite foolish in
these hard times to threaten to go on strike. Strikes don’t always accomplish
what they want and place the employees in hardship. Fighting for better
Health Care at this time is ridiculous owing to the current presidents
wishes? Free or low cost HC is not the normal thing today. I am retired and
pay about $350 per month. I am also on a fixed income and my HC is going up
over $30 dollars per month next year. I shop at Fry’s and only wish they
would have more baggers and wider isles, amoung other things that should have
been addressed with the new store. Good Jobs? New Cashiers get few hours and
hours are cut if sales slow down for a week? Wish the best for all Union
Employees.
Don’t be so quick to criticize the employees. They chose to join a union, yes
and it was within their legal rights in this state not to. But I doubt any of
them went to the union and said “We want to strike”. I’m equally willing to
bet the thought of striking terrifies them, or do you really think they
believe 100 bucks a week will sustain them for any length of time…
Criticize the union and its administrative staff all you want, but stop and
think before you berate its members.
Are Target and Pizza Hut striking as well? I didn’t see any mention on that.
The cost of benefits breaks down to $66 a month. I currently pay about $450 a
month. It is still a pretty good deal. At $25,000 with estimated 30% dropped
for taxes, etc. that works out to about 4.5% of their wages going to health
insurance, mine takes about 11% of my wages!
Windsor, I only used Pizza Hut and Target as two other jobs similar to the
grocery workers. Sorry if I wasn’t clear. As for the 4.5%, they had an
agreement, and suddenly the companies want to take it away from them. How
many of us would be satisfied, doing the same job for a 4.5% paycut.
The same way I feel when my insurance rates go up as do my coverage payments.
Everyone is dealing with that. I am already paying more than that percentage
wise and my rates are going higher next year. Did the insurance companies
providing for these corporations not raise their rates? At which point is the
company supposed to keep eating the cost of rising insurance? That is why
contracts are re-negotiated. Then both sides bicker but the usually come to a
resolution that is suitable for both. I am sure that the employees did not
get as big as a hike and they company did not get hit with the full cost on
them. If that is what happened, then that is how a union should work. It
cannot be that employees permanently get the same things—things change
especially in a recession. Companies are in it for the profit and there is
nothing wrong with that. As far as PH and Target—unfair to name them at all.
They are not involved.
welcome to the real workforce. Be greatful you have a job.There are a lot of
people who dont have health care and alomost anyplace you go to work you have
to pay for the service why should you be any different. Go ahead strike maybe
someone who is happy to just have a job will have the chance.
I know many people who take lower paying jobs just so they can have health
care. I just hope some compromised is reached.
Maybe they will actually have baggers at Fry’s with the temporary staff. Most
times I am in there, they don’t have anywhere near enough baggers and I have
to bag it myself. At least at Safeway they have a bagger at the end of each
line. Hard to believe they are affiliated in any way.
In this economy, any union that suggests that it’s members go out on strike
is just giving bad advice and is very foolhardy. There are too many people in
the pool of unemployed waiting for these mostly unskilled positions. In any
case, the days for unions should be over. Unions were originally created to
stop child labor and sweatshops from existing in our society, but have now
morphed into company hostage takers and hijackers.