Grocery Workers Hold Candlelight Vigil, Still No Strike

Updated at 11:50 p.m.

Several hours past a 7:10 p.m. strike deadline, prospects don't look good for the grocery store worker negotiations.

According to a CBS affiliate in San Diego, an Albertsons spokesperson said late Sunday night that "progress is being made, but we do not yet have an agreement."

Unions held a candlelight vigil at 7:30 p.m. outside a Vons Pavilion store in Beverly Hills. The crowd then walked, in five-person columns, down Beverly Drive to the Ralphs located in West Hollywood. Police on bicycles, motorcycles and in squad cars escorted the crowd along the way.

Also after 7:10 p.m. on Sunday night, the following statement was released by Albertsons:

"Albertsons, Ralphs and Vons are still at the table with the union. Progress is being made, but we do not yet have an agreement. Even though the 72-hour notice period has expired, nothing has changed. The terms of our most recent contract—including wages and benefits —remain in place, and our stores are open to serve customers as they usually are. We are still hopeful that a contract will be reached soon."

A spokesperson for the workers' union, the United Food and Commercial Workers, said no progress had been made Sunday. Representatives for Albertsons, Ralphs and Vons are still meeting with UFCW representatives at an undisclosed location.

Officials for the grocery chains aren't publicly commenting on the negotiations. On the Brentwood border, Albertsons has one location at , and Ralphs has one at 12057 Wilshire Blvd.

The strike deadline was set by the UFCW, which represents 62,000 employees of the Albertsons, Vons and Ralphs grocery stores in Southern California. After months of negotiations, on Thursday night, the UFCW gave three-day notice to cancel its contract. Management and labor leaders have been at the bargaining table trying to reach a deal on a new contract for eight months.

Canceling the contract removes the final barrier to a strike. Since a deal hasn't been reached by 7:10 p.m. Sunday, a strike can be called at any time. UFCW stewards were reportedly passing out picket signs on Sunday, in anticipation of the possible strike.

Ralphs said Friday afternoon it would shut down all of its Southern California stores if grocery workers go on strike, according to a report on The San Diego Union-Tribune website. It is unclear if Albertsons and Vons plan to do the same, although all three chains were soliciting replacement workers on Sunday.

Despite the possibility of a strike, clerks at Ralphs and Vons in Santa Monica said Sunday that there could be a glimmer of hope. They said the stores have still been getting fresh deliveries of perishable goods—such as bread, produce and meat—made by Kroger's and Safeway, which own the respective chains. That could be a sign that the stores don't plan to close.

"I think that does mean something,'' union spokesman Mike Shimpock said. "And if they start to move in the negotiations, we intend to stay at the table" and not call a strike.

“We’re ready to fight to preserve good jobs,” union leaders said in a statement. “We understand this is a tough economy, but we’re willing to stand up for workers everywhere being taken advantage of by profitable corporations. It is unfair and wrong for these corporations doing so well to use the economy as an excuse to squeeze those working paycheck to paycheck.”

Vons released a statement in response to the action:

We are disappointed by the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Locals’ decision to give the employers 72 hour notice of the cancellation of the contract extension. Doing so needlessly alarms our employees and our customers.

The notice does not mean a strike is imminent or that a strike will necessarily occur at any point. The notice simply allows the union the ability to call a strike if they choose to do so. Vons and the other employers intend to remain focused on the negotiation process and urge the unions to do so the same.

Union negotiators want the stores to pay the same share of their health care benefits as in the past. But their opponents want the employees to pay up to 80 percent of the costs, according to the head of the UFCW in San Diego, Mickey Kasparian. He said in June that the issue was the same as the one that prompted a 141-day strike in 2003-04.

Moreover, negotiators are far apart on the rate of pay for workers, according to reports. The UFCW is arguing that the chains made $1.5 billion in profits in 2010, and that one-third of that revenue went to their shareholders.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said Sunday that while he is "absolutely against" a strike, he understands "the needs of the workers.''

In mid-June, Albertsons, Ralphs and Vons announced that they had . The labor organization had been negotiating pension packages with the grocery stores. Specifics on the pension agreement were not released at the time of the agreement.

City News Service contributed to this report.

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