Union leaders representing 65,000 grocery workers on Tuesday broke off contract talks with Southern California's largest supermarket chains in a dispute over health insurance. The breakdown in negotiations may push the United Food and Commercial Workers union and Albertsons, Ralphs and Vons closer to a repeat of the bitter strike and lockout that turned Southern California grocery shopping into disarray for nearly five months beginning in October 2003. But there were no signs that a strike was imminent. "What they are proposing is to pay less money for health insurance than they are paying now and to require employees to pay more," said Rick Icaza, president of UFCW Local 770 in Los Angeles.
See "Supermarket talks break down", Jerry Hirsch, Los Angeles Times, May 8, 2007