Will they strike or won’t they? Even though Southern California grocery workers have given their union the go-ahead to call a strike, that doesn’t mean a walkout or an employer lockout is imminent, Wall Street analysts and labor experts said Monday, the Los Angeles Times reports. Sunday’s strike authorization vote may even help jump-start stalled talks toward a resolution, they said.

It’s all part of a high-stakes, elaborately choreographed form of theater seen when a supermarket employment contract comes up for renewal. But there are some differences in strategy this time.

The Albertsons, Ralphs and Vons chains may have been looking for a sign of just how committed the union’s rank and file were to the idea of another potentially devastating work stoppage, observers said. That would give the grocers a better sense of how hard they could push for more concessions in contract negotiations, which broke off last week.

Talks have bogged down over wage and health insurance issues.

For its part, the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union is following a new script. There have been no loud parking-lot rallies in front of supermarket shoppers. Union officials have stayed out of the public eye, opting for telephone news conferences attended by carefully selected workers telling their own stories.

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