A striker explains a few things

By: CINDY A. DREIBELBIS - For the North County Times | Wednesday, November 12, 2003 10:39 PM PST ∞

I have been a cashier with Ralphs grocery for 15 years. I have followed the responses to our strike through the local papers and radio shows and from the picket lines. Driven by disbelief and anger, I've felt compelled to respond more than once to some of the letters I've read, but have refrained from doing so.

I'm responding now to Brandon Malm's Nov. 5 letter, "Strikers are only hurting themselves." I am responding out of embarrassment.

Malm is absolutely correct. I am deeply distressed about the continued misconduct of some of our members. The strikers do not have the right to treat anyone as Malm and others have reported.

The striking employees have a code of ethics that we are all supposed to adhere to, in addition to our own personal ethics. At my store in Encinitas, we do just that.

My experience has been that most of the 70,000 striking employees are behaving with class and maturity and treating the customers with the respect they deserve.

I agree that the strikers who are destroying our reputations do not deserve their jobs back. I hope that the companies are documenting this outrageous behavior and that those employees do lose their jobs.

I also hope that our union follows through on the portion of our contract that states, "Each employee that chooses to cross the line and continue to work will be fined $100 a day."

These employees have enjoyed the same benefits the rest of us have and will benefit from whatever contract is finally agreed upon. Let's hope that all are held accountable for their actions.

I ask Mr. Malm to accept my personal apology for the behavior his wife endured. His point that "when this whole thing is over, the strikers are going to smile and pretend that the threats and taunting never happened" is also true.

However, please note that we will also be assisting some of the same few people who bestowed similar treatment on us while we walked the picket line. I'm referring to the teenagers who have driven by our store and thrown eggs at us with great accuracy. I'm referring to the adults who have driven by us and shouted profanity and made obscene gestures. I'm referring to the pellet guns that have been pointed our way. Thankfully, these incidents are few and far between.

I hope that my fellow union members will read this letter and think twice about their own behavior and act accordingly. I hope that my fellow human beings will read this letter and also act accordingly.

Everyone wants their lives to get back to normal. Let's all conduct ourselves in a manner that we take pride in and will not live to regret.

When this is over, I encourage the Malms to come to Ralphs in Encinitas. My co-workers and I will each give Mrs. Malm a hug and a sincere apology in person. Our store is staffed with a stellar group of people and each and every one of us loves our jobs and absolutely adores our store management. I guarantee that, along with the continued excellent service all of our customers deserve.

Cindy A. Dreibelbis lives in Oceanside.