As Southern California's grocery workers' union trumpeted what it described as a victory in protracted contract talks with the region's largest supermarket chains, workers expressed relief Wednesday. The agreement came Tuesday night after months of negotiations and repeated threats of strikes and lockouts. The 65,000 union members who work at 785 Albertsons, Ralphs and Vons stores from San Diego to Bakersfield are expected to approve the new four-year pact in voting Sunday. Shoppers interviewed Wednesday were upbeat that they would not have to hurdle picket lines to get their groceries. Workers also were happy that they would not have to strike.
See "A collective (bargaining) sigh of relief", Richard D. White and Jerry Hirsch, Los Angeles Times, July 18, 2007