UPDATED: Grocery Store Talks Continue Monday

The ongoing grocery store worker negotiations have continued into Monday morning, according to various reports. According to ABC7, there isn't a sign of a strike, as the three grocery stores—Albertsons, Ralphs and Vons—are stocking their shelves with new food items.

An Albertsons spokesperson said late Sunday night that "progress is being made, but we do not yet have an agreement," according to a CBS affiliate in San Diego.

"We really don't want to strike," United Food and Commercial Workers Local 324 spokesman Todd Conger said Sunday night. "They really are looking at every possibility."

As of 7:30 p.m., the Web site of UFCW Union Local 770 stated, "Union negotiators are currently still at the table trying to negotiate a fair deal. If the employers refuse to adequately fund healthcare, we will be forced to walk out and call a strike. If there is meaningful progress, we will continue to negotiate. Do not walk off your jobs until you have received official notice from your union representative.''

The latter sentence was also said on the union's telephone hotline.

After 7:10 p.m. on Sunday night, the following statement was released by Albertsons:

"Albertsons, Ralphs and Vons are still at the table with the union. Progress is being made, but we do not yet have an agreement. Even though the 72-hour notice period has expired, nothing has changed. The terms of our most recent contract—including wages and benefits —remain in place, and our stores are open to serve customers as they usually are. We are still hopeful that a contract will be reached soon."

A spokesperson for the UFCW union previously said no progress had been made Sunday. Representatives for Albertsons, Ralphs and Vons are still meeting with UFCW representatives at an undisclosed location.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa—who previously said that, while he is "absolutely against" a strike, he understands "the needs of the workers"—issued a new statement Sunday night:

"As mayor, I've had to make hard decisions during these tough economic times to close a $1.5 billion deficit. We have laid off a record 4,600 employees. This year, fortunately, we were able to avoid layoffs and furloughs by negotiating a new agreement without unions. Through their partnership and leadership, employees agreed to pay more for health care to stay on the job. And we agreed to find other ways to save money and jobs.''

There are three stores in and near Westwood and Century City: the (10861 Weyburn), the Ralphs (10309 W. Olympic) and the Vons (11674 Santa Monica Blvd.).

The strike deadline was set by the UFCW, which represents 62,000 employees of the Albertsons, Vons and Ralphs grocery stores in Southern California. After months of negotiations, on Thursday night, the UFCW gave three-day notice to cancel its contract. Management and labor leaders have been at the bargaining table trying to reach a deal on a new contract for eight months.

Canceling the contract removes the final barrier to a strike. If a deal can’t be reached by 7:10 p.m. Sunday, a strike can be called at any time. UFCW stewards were reportedly passing out picket signs on Sunday, in anticipation of the possible strike. Unions held a candlelight vigil at 7:30 p.m. outside a Vons Pavilion store in Beverly Hills on Sunday night.

A Ralphs representative said Friday afternoon that the chain would shut down all of its Southern California stores if grocery workers go on strike, according to a report on The San Diego Union-Tribune website. It is unclear whether Albertsons and Vons plan to do the same, although all three chains were soliciting replacement workers Sunday.

Despite the possibility of a strike, clerks at Ralphs and Vons in Santa Monica said Sunday that there could be a glimmer of hope. They said the stores have still been getting fresh deliveries of perishable goods—such as bread, produce and meat—made by Kroger's and Safeway, which own the respective chains. That could be a sign that the stores don't plan to close.

"I think that does mean something,'' union spokesman Mike Shimpock said. "And if they start to move in the negotiations, we intend to stay at the table" and not call a strike.

“We’re ready to fight to preserve good jobs,” union leaders said in a statement. “We understand this is a tough economy, but we’re willing to stand up for workers everywhere being taken advantage of by profitable corporations. It is unfair and wrong for these corporations doing so well to use the economy as an excuse to squeeze those working paycheck to paycheck.”

Vons released a statement in response to the action:

We are disappointed by the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Locals’ decision to give the employers 72 hour notice of the cancellation of the contract extension. Doing so needlessly alarms our employees and our customers.

The notice does not mean a strike is imminent or that a strike will necessarily occur at any point. The notice simply allows the union the ability to call a strike if they choose to do so. Vons and the other employers intend to remain focused on the negotiation process and urge the unions to do so the same.

Union negotiators want the stores to pay the same share of their health care benefits as in the past. But their opponents want the employees to pay up to 80 percent of the costs, according to the head of the UFCW in San Diego, Mickey Kasparian. He said in June that the issue was the same as the one that prompted a 141-day strike in 2003-04.

The grocery-store chains are trying to turn "good middle-class jobs" into "Burger King jobs," Conger said. "It's about them absolutely gutting the health insurance plans and increasing the premiums and claiming the issue is over a couple of dollars."

Moreover, negotiators are far apart on the rate of pay for workers, according to reports. The UFCW is arguing that the chains made $3 billion in profits in 2010, and that one-sixth of that revenue went to their shareholders.

In mid-June, Albertsons, Ralphs and Vons announced that they had . The labor organization had been negotiating pension packages with the grocery stores. Specifics on the pension agreement were not released at the time of the agreement.

City News Service contributed to this report.

Correction: The UFCW claims the grocery chains made $3 billion, not $1.5 billion, in profits in 2010.

This article was updated on Monday at 6:26 a.m.