Some 10,000 UFCW Local 655 grocery clerks have returned to work in St. Louis after a 24-day strike and lockout produced unprecedented union solidarity and community support that brought the area's three biggest supermarkets back to the table to negotiate a new compromise contract.
Local 655 President Bob Kelley announced on Oct. 31 that the clerks voted 4,174-945 to accept a second 47-month contract offer by Schnucks, Dierbergs and Shop 'n Save.
In spending 25 days on the picket lines, the clerks won what many were calling a watershed strike for the entire St. Louis area labor movement, said Bob Soutier, CEO/Secretary-Treasurer of the Greater St. Louis Labor Council.
"Had the companies been able to beat down Local 655, the largest single union in Missouri, it would have sent a dangerous message to employers throughout the state that they can say 'take it or leave it' with impunity. That Local 655 stood up for their principles is a victory for all of us," Soutier added.
The St. Louis strike was also important nationally. Local 655 was one of three large groups of UFCW members forced into strikes and lockouts by company demands that workers shoulder the burden of rising health care costs, while the firms also cut wages due to "competition" from low-wage, low-benefit Wal-Mart.
Thousands of Kroger workers in Kentucky and West Virginia and 70,000 grocery workers in Los Angeles are still locked out.
When Kelley announced the results, the crowded ballroom in downtown St. Louis erupted in cheers and applause. There were tears and hugs of joy and relief that the struggle of walking picket lines, enduring no paychecks, and missing their jobs was over. Some jumped from their chairs and started dancing.
After announcing the results, Kelley said, "We are forever grateful to the public and the rest of the labor movement for their outstanding, if not heroic, support of our members during this very trying time. We realize this was a hardship, not only for our members, but for the public as well. That our customers stood with us will never be forgotten by anyone in this union."
Kelley praised federal mediator Roger Hendrix and Gov. Bob Holden, D-Mo., for their efforts in bringing both sides back to bargaining table and Hendrix for helping work out a compromise.
Hendrix called the pact "the most difficult contract I have mediated in 20 years in this business." UFCW International Vice President Shaun Barclay said the new contract means "St. Louis will have the best (UFCW) health insurance program in the country, the only one with zero deductibles for health care."
The workers said they succeeded because of widespread, strong community support, including customers who honored their picket lines throughout the work stoppage. The companies locked out all the workers after the clerks struck one of the three.
St. Louis residents backed the workers by going elsewhere to buy their groceries despite the inconvenience, giving money for lunches to picketers, incessantly honking horns in solidarity, giving workers the encouraging "thumbs up," bringing food and drinks to the picket lines, and walking with striking and locked-out grocery clerks.
Local unionists raised more than $50,000 for the workers through voluntary contributions. The national UFCW sent in more than 100 staffers and paid $5 million in strike benefits.
Sonji Caule and Ruthye Harris, both 26-year members of the union who work at Schnucks City Plaza, emphasized: "We had to do what had to be done. The other unions supported us and our customers showed their respect by staying away. We love them and we're looking forward to getting back to work."
Contract highlights include:
* Companies keep paying 100 percent of health care premiums. There will also be no deductibles on medical benefits.
* An increase in 40-hour full-time jobs from 50 percent to 55 percent. The contract also improves workers' pensions.
* A ratification bonus that more than doubled, to 45 cents per hour worked last year. It also includes a 10-cents-per-hour raise for baggers, up from 5 cents the companies offered.
Kelley emphasized the importance of health care costs, which he said "are running out of control." The strike and lockout illustrated why the U.S. must address the health care crisis, he said. Kelley urged corporations to join unions in developing a national health care program for all.
"For our national government to ignore the health care issue is a national crisis," he said. He attributed part of it to Wal-Mart and other low-wage employers who keep prices and costs down by skimping on health care for workers. Kelley called Wal-Mart "a silent and deadly competitor...at the bargaining table."
This article was written by the St. Louis Labor Tribune and distributed by Press Associates, Inc., news service. Used by permission.
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Some 10,000 UFCW Local 655 grocery clerks have returned to work in St. Louis after a 24-day strike and lockout produced unprecedented union solidarity and community support that brought the area’s three biggest supermarkets back to the table to negotiate a new compromise contract.
Local 655 President Bob Kelley announced on Oct. 31 that the clerks voted 4,174-945 to accept a second 47-month contract offer by Schnucks, Dierbergs and Shop ‘n Save.
In spending 25 days on the picket lines, the clerks won what many were calling a watershed strike for the entire St. Louis area labor movement, said Bob Soutier, CEO/Secretary-Treasurer of the Greater St. Louis Labor Council.
“Had the companies been able to beat down Local 655, the largest single union in Missouri, it would have sent a dangerous message to employers throughout the state that they can say ‘take it or leave it’ with impunity. That Local 655 stood up for their principles is a victory for all of us,” Soutier added.
The St. Louis strike was also important nationally. Local 655 was one of three large groups of UFCW members forced into strikes and lockouts by company demands that workers shoulder the burden of rising health care costs, while the firms also cut wages due to “competition” from low-wage, low-benefit Wal-Mart.
Thousands of Kroger workers in Kentucky and West Virginia and 70,000 grocery workers in Los Angeles are still locked out.
When Kelley announced the results, the crowded ballroom in downtown St. Louis erupted in cheers and applause. There were tears and hugs of joy and relief that the struggle of walking picket lines, enduring no paychecks, and missing their jobs was over. Some jumped from their chairs and started dancing.
After announcing the results, Kelley said, “We are forever grateful to the public and the rest of the labor movement for their outstanding, if not heroic, support of our members during this very trying time. We realize this was a hardship, not only for our members, but for the public as well. That our customers stood with us will never be forgotten by anyone in this union.”
Kelley praised federal mediator Roger Hendrix and Gov. Bob Holden, D-Mo., for their efforts in bringing both sides back to bargaining table and Hendrix for helping work out a compromise.
Hendrix called the pact “the most difficult contract I have mediated in 20 years in this business.” UFCW International Vice President Shaun Barclay said the new contract means “St. Louis will have the best (UFCW) health insurance program in the country, the only one with zero deductibles for health care.”
The workers said they succeeded because of widespread, strong community support, including customers who honored their picket lines throughout the work stoppage. The companies locked out all the workers after the clerks struck one of the three.
St. Louis residents backed the workers by going elsewhere to buy their groceries despite the inconvenience, giving money for lunches to picketers, incessantly honking horns in solidarity, giving workers the encouraging “thumbs up,” bringing food and drinks to the picket lines, and walking with striking and locked-out grocery clerks.
Local unionists raised more than $50,000 for the workers through voluntary contributions. The national UFCW sent in more than 100 staffers and paid $5 million in strike benefits.
Sonji Caule and Ruthye Harris, both 26-year members of the union who work at Schnucks City Plaza, emphasized: “We had to do what had to be done. The other unions supported us and our customers showed their respect by staying away. We love them and we’re looking forward to getting back to work.”
Contract highlights include:
* Companies keep paying 100 percent of health care premiums. There will also be no deductibles on medical benefits.
* An increase in 40-hour full-time jobs from 50 percent to 55 percent. The contract also improves workers’ pensions.
* A ratification bonus that more than doubled, to 45 cents per hour worked last year. It also includes a 10-cents-per-hour raise for baggers, up from 5 cents the companies offered.
Kelley emphasized the importance of health care costs, which he said “are running out of control.” The strike and lockout illustrated why the U.S. must address the health care crisis, he said. Kelley urged corporations to join unions in developing a national health care program for all.
“For our national government to ignore the health care issue is a national crisis,” he said. He attributed part of it to Wal-Mart and other low-wage employers who keep prices and costs down by skimping on health care for workers. Kelley called Wal-Mart “a silent and deadly competitor…at the bargaining table.”
This article was written by the St. Louis Labor Tribune and distributed by Press Associates, Inc., news service. Used by permission.