Pickets rally at Vons in Costa Mesa

Deirdre Newman

The steady drumbeat of the supermarket strike intensified Thursday as

a rally outside the Vons in the Mesa Verde Center electrified the

area with loud chants, cheers and whistles.

“What do we want?” strikers chanted.

“A contract.”

“When do we want it?”

“Now,” the strikers screamed.

Grocery workers from Vons, Pavilions, Ralphs and Albertsons walked

in a continuous loop outside Vons, shouting and waving signs, to show

that their determination has not flagged as the strike and lock-out

entered its second month.

“The companies think we’re weakening -- this is to show them we’re

not,” said a defiant picket named Bob, who did not want to give his

last name.

The United Food and Commercial Workers union went on strike Oct.

11 after rejecting a contract presented by the management of the

parent companies of Albertsons, Ralphs and Vons supermarkets. The

union rejected the contract mainly because the various managements

want employees to pay 50% of hospital stays, 50% of doctor’s visits,

50% for prescriptions and to take a cut in vision and dental.

In late October, the union announced it was pulling pickets from

all Ralphs stores to thank consumers who had supported the strike and

to make things easier for shoppers after the disruptions from the

raging wildfires. Ralphs continues to lock out its employees,

however.

Federal mediator Peter J. Hurtgen got both sides talking again

Monday after a monthlong impasse. On Wednesday, he halted talks to

give the opposing parties time to reflect on the issues.

Rallies such as the one that drew about 150 outside Vons on

Thursday take place every day in the cities the strike affects, said

Maggie Land, one of the union rally coordinators. Amanda Milligan

marched pushing her 2-year-old son, Jarid. She said the contract the

company leaders are offering would put a burden on her young family.

“They want to take away 50% of our medical [benefits],” Milligan

said. “If I have another child, I will have to pay 50%. No one can

afford that.”

The pickets’ bitterness toward their companies’ leaders has spread

to the scabs who have crossed the picket lines to work in the stores

and toward customers who continue to shop there.

They shouted, “Shame on you,” to shoppers leaving the store.

Shopper Stan Pincura was unfazed by the verbal attacks.

“I think they’re a little childish,” Pincura said. “It doesn’t

bother me at all.”

Pincura said he believes the employees are being offered a fair

deal.

Laura Yourex, owner of the security company that monitors the

center, said the strikers have been very polite and considerate since

the strike started. She said she was impressed with the turnout and

the energy of the rally.

“I think it’s a great show of their commitment to their cause,”

Yourex said. “It’s very well-organized and respectful.”

* DEIRDRE NEWMAN covers Costa Mesa and may be reached at (949)

574-4221 or by e-mail at deirdre.newman@latimes.com.