As the supermarket strike and lockout that has affected 70,000 Southern California grocery workers is in its fourth month, support on picket lines continues to diminish. Union strike finds are running out and many workers have been forced to return to their old jobs. The key unsettled issue in the strike is how much the company should contribute toward employee health care plans. Union officials say that they will not call off the strike until they are satisfied with their members' health benefits.
See "Strike, Lockout Hurting Grocery Workers", The New York Times, January 25, 2004