Supermarket Customers Against Union-Busting

Re “Stores Facing Hard Sell to Refill Aisles,” Feb. 25: I’m sure I speak for many former supermarket chain customers in saying that only the workers -- not Safeway’s chief executive and multimillionaire Steve Burd’s promised promotions -- can bring me back. If supermarket workers win a fair settlement that protects their health benefits and brings them happily back to work, I’ll return to my neighborhood Vons when their union encourages consumers to do so. If Burd succeeds in his drive to crush the union, or forces a substandard contract down its throat, my family will stick with our new routine: our neighborhood’s Trader Joe’s plus the nearest unionized Costco. The supermarket chains are crazy if they think they can win anything by “Wal-Martizing” their workers.

Steve Askin

Long Beach