Arizona Grocery Store Workers Poised to Strike

Thousands of union workers across Arizona are poised to go on strike Friday after months of failed negotiations with two major grocery chains.

The union gave grocery giants Safeway Inc. and Fry's, owned by Cincinnati-based Kroger Co., until 6 p.m. Friday to come up with a new contract offer. The stores have been hiring thousands of temporary workers eager for jobs amid the nation's economic meltdown, and they're defending the contract they offered employees, making a strike more probable by the hour.

The stakes for about 25,000 workers and their employers are high.

If they strike, union members would get just $100 a week in strike pay. And with Arizona among the nation's most competitive grocery regions, the companies could lose coveted market share if they don't settle.

Arizona is a right-to-work state, meaning workers can cross picket lines. The companies also could decide to lock out all their employees, and nonunion members would not get any income if that happens.

Ellen Anreder, spokeswoman for Food and Commercial Workers union Local 99, said the biggest sticking point in the companies' contract offer is a health care fee for new employees.

The $5-$15 weekly fee, depending on how many family members are covered, would amount to nearly $800 a year for some workers.

"That's just too much of a hardship for people earning $13,000 or $14,000 a year," Anreder said.

The workers also want a pay increase, but Anreder said that's not asking too much considering most employees haven't received a raise in the last nine years. She said the average worker earns $15,000 to $20,000 a year.

"No one ever got rich working in a supermarket," she said. "We just want to feed our families."

Safeway spokeswoman Cathy Kloos called the contract offer fair and reasonable and added that the Pleasanton, Calif.-based company doesn't want to lose any customers or employees over a strike.