LOS ANGELES - More than 40 people were arrested Thursday during supermarket rallies in support of grocery clerks idled by a four-month strike and lockout.

The granddaughter of late farmworker union leader Cesar Chavez, state Assemblywoman Jackie Goldberg, D-Los Angeles, and an 86-year-old member of the Gray Panthers activist group were among those arrested during civil disobedience rallies involving clerks and about two dozen labor unions and community groups, organizers said.

Some protesters linked arms and blocked the entrances at Vons and Pavilions stores.

Twenty people were handcuffed and led away from the two stores in mid-city Los Angeles and the San Pedro area, organizers said. Ten people were taken into custody in Santa Monica and 17 in the Orange County town of Mission Viejo, authorities said.

They were cited for misdemeanors such as trespassing, obstructing an entrance or failure to disperse and were released to face court appearances, authorities said.

Actress Jamie Lee Curtis attended one rally.

"I'm here as a mommy trying to explain to her little boy why we honk, why we put our thumbs up and why we don't go into those markets," she told KABC-TV. She was not among those arrested.

More civil disobedience rallies could occur as community groups from San Francisco to Washington, D.C. prepare to support the clerks, said Shannon Donato, one of the protest organizers.

"Today was the beginning of what you will continuously see across the nation," she said.

Meanwhile, federally mediated negotiations between the union and store chains continued for a ninth day without resolution.

The strike that began Oct. 11 put 70,000 clerks from San Diego to San Luis Obispo on picket lines in front of stores owned by Albertsons Inc., Kroger Co. and Safeway Inc.. Both sides have been deadlocked for months over the cost and scope of health benefits and a proposed two-tier wage system for future employees.

After clerks went on strike at Safeway-owned Vons and Pavilions stores, Albertsons and Ralphs, owned by Kroger Co., locked out their workers. The chains have lost tens of millions of dollars in sales since then but have been able to keep stores open with replacement workers.