UFCW Local 324, based in Orange and southern Los Angeles counties, made picket signs last week before the tentative deal with Stater Bros. (File photo courtesy of UFCW Local 324)
Grocery workers across Southern California are set to vote on a new contract after negotiators reached a tentative agreement with Stater Bros. Markets.
According to the United Food and Commercial Workers, the pact, if approved, will deliver “significant contractual improvements” for more than 12,000 union grocery workers, including over 650 represented by UFCW Local 135 in San Diego County.
The agreement, reached late Wednesday following what the union called “an intense two-day bargaining session” in a news release, includes higher wages across classifications, improved pension and retirement security, faster and better access to health care, more staffing to reduce workloads and protections for workers against unfair labor practices.
Workers will vote electronically to accept or reject the tentative agreement beginning at 8 a.m. Wednesday, Voting closes the following day at 5 p.m.
The agreement comes after months of strife, including unfair labor practice strike authorization votes, customer boycotts and organizing throughout the region.
“This agreement is a direct result of the power and unity our members showed every step of the way,” said Todd Walters, president of UFCW Local 135, adding that, “our members made it clear that they won’t settle for anything less than the respect they’ve earned as essential workers.”