Gary In Murrieta wrote on Mar 27, 2007 9:20 PM:This is what we the customers have been saying all along. I have still not returned to Albertson since the last strike, and there are many more who feel the same way.

hank wrote on Mar 27, 2007 9:55 PM:This article is stupid! Please do your home work.How would you like it if you gave your all,to vons, safeway,ralphs,etc.for 23 years( a career sold to you 24 years ago, as good wages, medical benefits, future retirement ), only to have to fight GREEDY ceo's,(Steve Burd), in todays world. All we true hard working American citizens would like to recieve is a pay raise!!! Topped out grocery workers and skilled meat cutters have not recieved a pay raise in 5 years. Nobody cares until it effects them. Walk A Mile In Our Shoes.

Can't wait... wrote on Mar 28, 2007 7:13 AM:until they expand the Wal*Mart's in North County!

Won't return if Strike goes forward wrote on Mar 28, 2007 7:36 AM:I supported the workers in the last strike. I will not shop at Albertson's again if they strike this time. Both sides need to figure out a way to come to an agreement without dragging the customers through their disputes. As for Hank, where does your union stand on illegal immigration? Until the unions speak out against it, your union is doing you and your co-workers a huge disservice. I've not heard any union take that position.

Dear Hank wrote on Mar 28, 2007 7:50 AM:Many of us have faced having to retrain for new careers after having the carpet pulled out from under us, leaving behind benefits such as you mention. While not unsympathetic to the plight of the older grocery workers, and with no disrespect intended, it is ridiculous for any young person to expect a lifetime career from a grocery chain, when self check out lanes have made it obvious that that career is being phased out. Again with no disrespect, there are hundreds of thousands of more highly trained workers who have faced their jobs disappearing overseas. Topped out grocery workers are just that, topped out. The market cannot support nor justify paying $18 for running a register.

College Grad to Hank wrote on Mar 28, 2007 7:53 AM:You can't realistically expect to have your job continue unchanged for nearly three decades. The market changes and businesses have to adapt. Perhaps it was a mistake to rely on being a grocery worker or meat cutter for a lifetime. Grocery worker is a job, not a career. And, while I agree that Steve Burd probably makes too much money, the fact remains that he is dealing with countless issues that the average grocery worker or meat cutter can't even fathom. Walk A Mile In His Shoes, why don't you.

Bill wrote on Mar 28, 2007 8:50 AM:To Dear Hank, Having said what you have said, can you explain how COSTCO can pay their topped out checkers and meat cutters more than the grocery chains ($18.00 to $20.00 hr.) COSTCO understands that a well paid employee is a productive and loyal employee. Oh and by the way topped out COSTCO employees just recieved a .50 cents and entry level employees recieved a $1.00 an hour raise!!! Jim Sinegal CEO of COSTCO gets it. He is honest and COSTCO practices honest business ethics. Have you ever tryed being a checker? I doubt you would last 10 minutes. They dont get payed enough for what they are required to do. The only reason the grocery stores cannot support? or justify? paying $18.00 for some one to run their registers is because they are down right GREEDY!!!!

Hank wrote on Mar 28, 2007 8:57 AM:Dear college grad I am not dishonest or greedy enough to walk a mile in Steve Burds shoes. The countless issues he deals with are how to cut the pay and health care benifits from his employees to better line his pockets. It is what it is. It dosnt take a college grad to figure it out

$18 / hours... wrote on Mar 28, 2007 9:06 AM:That's a lot of money for running a register... I'm assuming you get health benefits too. If you do the math, that's about $36,000 / year + overtime (if you get overtime) for running a register. I high school graduate could do that ( and they probalby do). Maybe it's time to get retooled, meaning, going back to school and getting some new skills to find new work. As a programmer, I take classes to further my education all the time... I don't want to be pigeon-holed in to any 1 specific area of programming. Who knows, maybe the grocery store would pay for some of your education. Personally, I think all companies need to get tough on Unions. Unions are a thing of yesteryear and need to be abolished. Ford union workers are making $35-45 bucks and hours for assembly line work. Ridiculous. ...get real, get an education; then you can go where ever you want.

Jim wrote on Mar 28, 2007 9:09 AM:To cant wait... You can probaby get a job at Wal*Mart as a greeter

Suzy K wrote on Mar 28, 2007 9:28 AM:I am so tired of MSM bashing unions and thier workers. Just what the heck has corporate America done for the average worker lately except to cut benefits and hold back wages. PLEASE enough already. The next job and/or benefits eliminated or outsourced could be yours.

hank to wont return if... wrote on Mar 28, 2007 9:28 AM:I dont belong to the union.

bill to college grad wrote on Mar 28, 2007 9:45 AM:Whats the difference between a job and a career? They both pay money. Hundreds of thousands of people have made a career out of working in the retail grocery business and have retired very comfortably. Meat cutting is a trade that can be made into a career. No one has a job for 30 years without change. The issue is the greedy grocery chains want to get fatter at the expense of the people who have helped build them up and made them succesful with their hard dedicated work. For all that they get a pay cut and Steve Burd, CEO of Safeway,for example, gets a raise.

Suzy K wrote on Mar 28, 2007 12:04 PM:So let's see..IF everyone got a college degree (though not everyone is college material for various reasons) just how many good paying jobs, degree required jobs would there be? I think the competition would certainly depress wages. Gee who would ring up your order...oh that's right, the self check out scanner. Yes we should just eliminate all human contact on the service level of jobs and just go with complete automation. Now if we could do this for the auto mechanic, truck drivers, hair stylist, dog groomer, admistrative workers, gardeners, nannies, pool service guys, restaurant workers.... Yeah those union workers and service workers just don't deserve to make a good living, own a home and save for retirement. That's reserved the college graduates. I just don't get this thinking.....

If you don't like it.... wrote on Mar 28, 2007 12:38 PM:If you don't like it, quit. Find another job. I say if the union strikes, the stores should let all of them go and hire non-union workers. Start from scratch. Why should a company have a union noose around it's neck at all times? I have been subject to pay reductions and outsourcing in the past. In one case, I was eventually let go because of downsizing / 911 / aerospace industry. It was no fun, but I went and landed another job. I don't think anyone should be forced to meet demands because everyone "strikes". What a crock.

Dan wrote on Mar 28, 2007 12:49 PM:Most likely, the greedy large corporations want to compete with cheap illegal alien labor and the greedy union wants to overcompensate themselves and their union members. The customer loses, but there are alternatives to both of the above.

Concerned-1 wrote on Mar 28, 2007 4:33 PM:I'm amazed at people who think they are owed a living. Unions are an anacronism. They are obsolete. They do nothing but line Union leader pockets and drive the price of doing business up. I'm sorry for Hank and the lot, but if you don't like the way your company is treating you, find another job. Nobody owes you a living.

Concerned-1 wrote on Mar 28, 2007 4:41 PM:Greedy Corporate America is to blame. Today there are no real American businesses. They are all a bunch of profit-drivin corporations who are hounded by greedy investors to continually grow the bottom line. Just pick up the business page: "Citicorp to cut 15,000 jobs." And all the stories are the same. The cost of doing business in America is too high to compete. There will be no American skilled workers in 20 years. Only service level workers, warehouse workers, and other low paying jobs. On the other end, there will be the day traders and internet-based entreprenuers, and of course, business managment. The middle class is doomed.

Um Bill...?? wrote on Mar 28, 2007 4:50 PM:Yes, Costco I believe as well as Trader Joe's are both non-union and have a much better business model than any of the major grocery chains. No, I have not WORKED as a checker, however since you're posing questions and defending them I assume you have. I still fail to see the stress level. Now may I ask you if you've been vomited on, held a dying man's hand or tried to communicate with an Alzheimer's patient lately? I do fine passing groceries by a scanner, maybe if the strike comes I'll pick up some extra money by scabbing. I know better than to slap a wad of bills, a receipt and a pile of change into someone's hand all at once, one skill I have over most of the checkers I've run into lately.

Godzilla wrote on Mar 28, 2007 5:39 PM:For gad sakes Hank, get a real job. Are we to assume that you were so gullible to think you could actually live on those wages earned in a grocery store? This is the type of job for teanagers and mothers with extra time on their hands, this is not and will never be a career type position. Its a step up to better things type job, cry me a river:(

ExStoreMgr wrote on Mar 28, 2007 6:06 PM:Oh... this is such a difficult argument because both sides have their points. I was a Store Manager during the last strike and I remember the 18-19 hour days. It's the image of "working a register" that the public takes issue with. The unions should have given up protecting checkers a long time ago in favor of employees with skills that weren't so subject to technology, but they didn't because they couldn't see the bigger picture. Incidentally, as a store manager, I was compensated at a level far above the "older grocery workers", yet I left the industry because of the way the large company treated me. I make less money, but live a better life and am far happier now. I do feel for those affected by this, there are so many of them that are SO afraid to find new lines of work. What does the future hold for the grocery companies? Think about the recent spinach, peanut butter and pet food crises. There will ABSOLUTELY be a major health crisis directly related to grocery store food when it is improperly handled by inexperienced personnel. It's really just a matter of when.

to Um Bill...? wrote on Mar 29, 2007 7:06 AM:There are a certain percentage of COSTCO's that are indead Union (Teamsters)!!! My Wife is a checker. Have you ever had a knife pulled on you, a gun pointed at you?

Wal*Mart is here to stay... wrote on Mar 29, 2007 7:16 AM:Deal with it! Many of you may not remember when the "supermarket" took over the grocery business. We heard all the same cry's about the Mom & Pop's going out of business. Consumers are voting with their wallets, get real... I can get great deals at Wal*Mart cheaper, than I can at Albertson's.

WHAT? wrote on Mar 29, 2007 7:46 AM:YOU WORK IN A GROCERY STORE!! I DID THAT WHEN I WAS FOURTEEN!! YOU WANT BETTER WAGES? GET AN EDUCATION AND DO SOMETHING WORTH WHILE! CRAP! GROCERY WORK IS FOR HIGH SCHOOL KIDS! GROW UP!

Ed wrote on Mar 29, 2007 7:58 AM:Wow! Double check your facts, these stores are far more than "marginally profitable". If they feel that they cannot compete with the Costco's of the world, it's purely because of their sincerely poor upper and store level management.

I have a friend who works wrote on Mar 29, 2007 12:36 PM:at Albertsons and he is in his 50's been working since he was 17. I didn't cross the picket line last time and I won't this time. There is alot that we don't know unless you know someone who is on the inside.

Get Real wrote on Mar 29, 2007 4:05 PM:I'll say this again...I should be so lucky as to get the pay and benefits that they do already. And now they want my sympathy and expect me to be happy to pay higher grocery prices because they want more? Get real...if they expect me to waste my hard earned money driving further to another store...they can forget it. They should be happy to have what they have and if they don't...go find a better paying job elsewhere. THERE ARE A LOT PEOPLE WHO ARE WORSE OFF WHO ARE GOING TO END UP PAYING HIGHER PRICES SO THAT THEY CAN MAKE MORE THAN 18 BUCKS AN HOUR! Try and justify that!!

rick wrote on Mar 29, 2007 6:11 PM:Read the story on circuit city.. This my fellow readers is what it is all about.. A RACE TO THE BOTTOM. The average pay at circuit city is $8.00 to $13.00 an hour. The average pay at the new Ralphs since the last labor dispute is $ 9.75. 35% of ralphs employees do not have benifits. Now the companies want more from the workers. WAKE UP PEOPLE. i am not a union supporter, but these poor workers have dealt with enough.

To,Get Real wrote on Mar 29, 2007 7:52 PM:The next time you walk into a "Life Styles" remodeled Vons, ask your self, how can they afford to do million $$ remodels, not one but all of their stores? You are paying for it in the form of high prices. You are not paying the worker. GET REAL, GET AN EDUCATION!!!! Better yet get a job

To Ed wrote on Mar 29, 2007 8:03 PM:Great comments, you see it well. You must not have an education, or a college degree.