OR: Why I haven't eaten in days.
As I'm sure you're all aware, there's been a grocery workers
strike in SoCal for several months now. For the last two months, the UFCW has graciously refrained from picketing Ralph's chain, instead focusing on VONS, Pavilions, and Albertsons, allowing us lazy people at least one major supermarket that we can frequent. I'll admit that I have gone to Ralph's a couple times since the strike, but now I'm faced with a refreshed moral dillemma. The way this strike first began, as I understand it, is that the UFCW had a beef with management at VONS, Pavilions, and Albertson's in SoCal over healthcare for it's workers. They decided to go on strike. As a show of "corporate solidarity," Krogers, who owns Ralph's, decided to force it's union workers to stop working at it's stores (lock out). Sounds to me like they're trying to break the union for grocery stores in Southern California (I don't actually think that's possible, but this has been going on since Oct. 11, 2003). After recent talks have broken down, the strike is now back in place at every grocery store, including Ralph's.
Now, this may not seem like something fascinating to those of you in a world devoid of chain grocery markets (NYC), but for me it really is a problem. I have to go to Trader Joe's or Whole Foods, neither of which have the items I want at the prices I want. Though I have very mixed feelings about unions, I have no mixed feelings about people, and I feel bad for the "workers" who haven't worked in three-and-a-half months because they don't want to pay exorbitant prices for healthcare. I can justify shopping at Ralph's when I just have to deal with poorly-trained scabs, but I refuse to go shopping when I have to cross a picket line and, in so doing, basically tell these people that I couldn't care less about them.
I guess I'll just waste away into nothing. This may be the last post I make, as I am no longer strong enough to type (this is an elaborate, and possibly terribly unfunny hoax -- my job feeds me well every day just for coming in).
P.S. -- What the hell is "corporate solidarity" anyway? Can a company fire everyone just because they do the same job as another company whose worker's have a disagreement with management?
-Matt 13:27 EST |
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