LOS ANGELES — Unions representing 47,000 Southern California grocery workers tentatively signed a new three-year contract with Ralphs, Albertsons, Vons and Pavilions, averting a strike they had authorized last week.
The contract will be put to a vote this week by rank-and-file members of seven United Food and Commercial Workers locals representing workers at 540 stores from San Diego to San Luis Obispo.
The unions delayed releasing details of the agreement until their members vote on it. But they praised the result, which they said included higher wages and improved benefits for essential workers who have toiled through difficult conditions during the two-year pandemic. Ninety-five percent of union members voted to move ahead with a strike if supermarkets refused to substantially raise their pay.
