Unions, Grocers Extend Contract

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Three Southern California grocery chains and the unions representing thousands of their employees agreed Monday night to a second contract extension in efforts to come to a long-term deal, a federal mediator said.


The latest extension will last until April 9 and will automatically be renewed on a daily basis unless either party gives a 72 hour-notice that it wants to end the extension.


The union represents more than 70,000 workers employed by Ralphs, Vons, and Albertson’s grocery stores.


The second extension also calls for retroactive benefits if there is no strike or boycott, just as the first extension did. No other details of the agreement were made available due to a gag order imposed on all parties involved in the discussions.


If a deal is not reached or if either party cancels the automatic extension, workers would have the right to vote on a strike at any time. Workers could also continue working without a contract.


Three years ago, negotiations fell apart leading to one of the longest grocery strikes in the nation’s history. The stores and unions eventually agreed to a two-tier benefits system for employees, which is a point of contention in current negotiations. The strike in 2004 lasted 139 days.

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