Negotiations on a new labor contract for Southern California supermarket workers, abruptly halted Tuesday, are expected to resume next week amid a dispute over health benefits. "We want to get back to the table," said Rick Icaza, president of United Food and Commercial Workers union Local 770 in Los Angeles.Both sides said Wednesday that they wanted to avoid a repeat of the contentious strike and lockout that disrupted Southern California grocery shopping for nearly five months beginning in October 2003. The union broke off talks Tuesday over what it said was a proposal by the large supermarket chains that would gut the trust fund that purchases health insurance for workers.
See "Grocery industry talks expected to resume", Jerry Hirsch, Los Angeles Times, May 9, 2007