Giant, Safeway Workers Blast Concession Demands, Recruitment of "Replacement" Workers, Efforts to Silence Union Members

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)Giant and Safeway management is “going nuclear” in its attempt to ram through a contract that would drive workers out of the middle class, undermine their health and retirement security, and squeeze even more profits out of their hard work, grocery workers charged today. They condemned the companies’ decision to prominently post “help wanted” ads for “replacement” – or scab -- workers and rapidly escalating efforts to silence workers as evidence that management wants provoke a strike or order a lockout when the current contract expires on March 31st.

“We’ve been meeting since January 11th and with our deadline less than a month away, Giant and Safeway management refuses to negotiate in good faith, instead presenting us with a list of more than 30 demands that will take thousands of dollars out of the pockets of our members and into the already-overflowing wallets of top executives and shareholders,” said United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 400 President Tom McNutt. “This is not about economic necessity — rather, it’s about unvarnished corporate greed.”

Noting that the two supermarket chains control nearly 60 percent of the Washington, DC, area grocery market and earn healthy profits, McNutt said, “For the past 30 years, our members sacrificed to make Giant and Safeway the leaders in our area and now, all we ask is for the companies to share the fruits of our labor. In response, we get a boot heel on our back. But our members are standing tall. We will not bend or buckle no matter what management does.”

Metro Washington Council President Jos Williams pledged the “full support of the local labor community for our brothers and sisters on the line at our local supermarkets. We’ll be there for them all the way.”

Giant’s and Safeway’s bellicose tactics at the negotiating table are being matched by management’s treatment of workers in the stores, says Local 400, citing several recent actions “that go far beyond the normal scope of bargaining.”

On Thursday, March 1, the companies told the union they will post highly visible advertisements in their stores this weekend recruiting “replacement” workers. “This is about the 1 percent waging class warfare against the 99 percent by trying to pit neighbors against each other for the same jobs, only with lower pay and fewer benefits,” McNutt charged. “But it won’t work because people know the threat to our living standards comes from corporate greed, not our fellow workers.”

Management also ordered workers to stop handing out business cards to customers (see photo above) saying, “I am a member of Local 400 ACT! (Activist Contract Team!) … and we are working to secure a fair contract with our employer by March 31, 2012. Please help us share in the fruits of our labor. Tell our store manager that you support us.”

The union also reported that Giant and Safeway have “enacted draconian social media policies designed to create a chilling atmosphere in which workers silence themselves out of fear they might be disciplined for exercising their free speech rights on Facebook, Twitter and in other venues.” Local 400 has filed charges with the National Labor Relations Board against the companies, alleging that these policies violate workers’ rights and civil rights.

“If Giant and Safeway think that trying to intimidate, frighten and silence their workers will force us to bow to their demands, they’ve got another think coming,” McNutt said. “In fact, they’re having the exact opposite impact. Our members are empowered, we are united, and we’ve got each others’ backs. These companies will not trample on our members’ right to improve their lives through collective bargaining. The days of Giant and Safeway goosing their profits by driving down our members’ economic standing are coming to an end — and our members are ready to do whatever it takes to achieve their aspirations.”

Local 400 plans to increase their ongoing efforts to reach out to customers, elected officials and community allies as they build public support for the principle that “grocery jobs should create a ladder to the middle class, provide health and retirement security, and support vibrant communities.”

UFCW Local 400 represents 40,000 members working in the retail food, health care, retail department store, food processing, service and other industries in Washington, DC, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee.
- photo courtesy of Occupy Giant and Safeway facebook page