UPDATE: Tentative Agreement Reached in Grocery Strike

UPDATE: At 11:35 a.m., a message posted on the UFCW Local 770 website stated, "We are pleased to announce that that we have reached a settlement that protects your healthcare. Vote details to follow." We will provide more updates as we receive them.

The original story, as posted on Sunday night:

Grocery chain owners and union representatives continued negotiations Sunday night past the 7:10 p.m. deadline set for a strike, but workers could still walk off the job as soon as today if no progress gets made in negotiations.

On Thursday at 7:10 pm, the United Food and Commercial Workers union, which represents around 62,000 grocery store clerks in Southern California, announced that the workers at Albertsons, Vons, and Ralphs would strike if negotiations could not be reached in 72 hours.

However, both sides remained at the bargaining table late Sunday night.

"Our workers will stay on the job until at least midnight, and possibly longer if negotiations are moving ahead," said Mike Shimpock in a statement. Shimpock is a spokesman for United Food and Commercial Workers Local 770, one of the unions representing the workers seeking a new contract.

A message on the local's website advised members that negotiations are still ongoing and instructed them to report to work as usual.

Grocery chain officials were mum on Sunday but Fred Muir, an Albertsons spokesman, recently told Walnut Patch that continued talks were a positive.

"We can say we're glad that the union is back at the negotiating table," Muir said. "That's the only place you can reach a contract. Right now I think we've made a reasonable offer."

The three major grocery chains and the unions have been negotiating for months.  The major sticking point has been related to health insurance costs. 

Union officials have said that the benefits package the chains are offering would be broke in 16 months.  The recent offer would require workers to pay about $36 a month for individual health benefits and $92 per family.  The amount the companies would pay as part of shared costs has not been disclosed.

Muir said that the chains would still be paying for the bulk of the costs of the health benefits under the most recent offer.

The chains and the unions also are having trouble reaching an accord on pay rates. 

"They're sitting on their piles of cash, and they're throwing us
quarters,'' union spokesman Mike Shimpock told City News Service Sunday.

According to the union, the three chains made $3 billion in profits last year, with $500 million going to shareholders.

The last lockout was in 2003-04. The strike last 141 days and cost the stores $1.5 billion.

The three chains continued to look for replacement workers Sunday.  Albertsons spokeswoman Christie Ly said the chain planned to keep most of its stores open during the strike but might close some depending on their resources.  Vons did not say if it planned to close stores. Ralphs announced that it would shut the doors of its stores during the strike.  The closes Ralphs to Walnut was in Diamond Bar, but that location closed due to the sluggish economy.

Local reaction to the possible strike was mixed, with some saying they would not cross the picket line in support of the striking workers and others calling for the unions to halt the walk out or lose customers.

Walnut resident Patricia Kwon said if a strike happens, she would likely support the grocery workers.

"I know that they want to get as much for themselves and their families. They work really hard like everyone else so I think that the stores should give them what they ask for within reason," Kwon said.

"I would not cross the picket line if they did strike, if it were me I would want people to support me, so I guess I would have no choice but to go elsewhere."

Patch contributor Gabriela Klein wrote in comments on a previous strike story that with so many other options, supermarkets like the three major chains will soon be a thing of the past.

“Their price gouging and unhealthy food choices are catching up to them,” Klein said.  “There are many grocery chains that do not burden their customers with political wrangling and scaring innocent people who are afraid to cross some picket line to get food for their families. Their days are numbered.”     

--City News Service contributed to this report.