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2003-12-20 -- San Francisco Safeway Demonstration:  A Proposal

In the demonstration against Safeway and in support of striking
Southern California grocery workers, about a third of Safeway's
Market/Church parking lot was packed with workers from many unions,
community groups, and independent supporters.

The tone of this demonstration was decidedly more militant than
similar occasions as many speakers, in their own ways, emphasized that
the stakes go far beyond 70,000 workers on strike or the $1 billion
the grocery chains want to make in health and salary cuts.  The basic
question is whether workers doing non-managerial jobs have the right
to stable and decent lives.

United Food and Commercial Workers, UFCW, is looking for people to do
picket duty anytime between 11 am -7 pm at the Market/Church,
Potrero/16th, and Mission/30th Safeway Stores.

What do you think about San Francisco health workers (either City or
non-profit) doing this together, as a way getting ourselves back in
gear for the budget battle that already starting?  One possibility
might be 5-7 PM on a particular night each week.  It could be a chance
to talk both about taking away grocery worker's healthcare and how
ill-prepared safety-net care is to cover new workers.  Please write
mlyon01@comcast.net.

The fight is starting: Health Director Mitch Katz reported that
departments are to prepare budgets with 7.5% budget cuts, and Newsom
is already saying that there will be midyear cuts and continued
bailouts on the backs of City workers.  In addition, speedup will be
perpetuated by eliminating vacant positions.  We know the City is
going to try drastic cuts in primary care again, as they did last year
when the proposed closing half the health centers in some way or
other.

For more information:
http://www.dph.sf.ca.us/DirectorsRpts/2003Dr/DirRpt12162003.shtml



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Bay City News, Saturday, December 20, 2003


Hundreds gather to show support for strike by grocery workers

 SAN FRANCISCO -- Hundreds of union supporters joined local and state
politicians outside of a Safeway supermarket in San Francisco today to
show support for a strike by Southern California grocery workers.

Braving the gray and wet weather, around 300 supporters gathered
directly outside of the Safeway entrance at Market and Church streets
at 11 a.m., blocking some traffic and making things more difficult for
shoppers.

Because the street right in front of the Safeway - Reservoir Street -
is public property, the picketers were allowed to gather there
peacefully.

Workers at Vons supermarkets in Southern California, owned by Safeway,
Inc., went on strike on Oct. 11 after negotiations for a new contract
failed. The strike prompted supermarket chains Kroger Co., and
Albertsons Inc. to lock out their union employees in solidarity with
Vons management.

The breakdown in negotiations is mainly over a request by Safeway that
employees share more of their health care costs.

Despite the weather, California Attorney General Bill Lockyer, San
Francisco Mayor-elect Gavin Newsom and San Francisco Supervisor Chris
Daly joined union supporters today and spoke to the crowd.

Using the back of a truck as a makeshift stage, Lockyer opened his
remarks by addressing the crowd as "brothers and sisters" and
mentioned that his grandfather and father were roofers.

"I am a unionist, and I'm proud to join you today in telling Safeway
and these other corporate giants: we will not stand aptly by while
they try to squeeze health care and decent jobs into third-world
poverty,'' Lockyer said.

During the protest, picketers tried to dissuade some shoppers from
entering the store, and held signs reading "corporate greed vs. human
need'' and "hold the line for affordable healthcare: don't shop
Safeway.''

Mingling with strike supporters, Newsom said he did not want the
strike to come to San Francisco and was willing to help with
negotiations.

"As mayor-elect, I want to make sure that Safeway understands that
this strike cannot occur in Northern California,'' Newsom told the
crowd.

A Safeway manager stood outside the store handing out pamphlets to
shoppers concerned about the protest, but he would not comment or give
his name.

The Safeway pamphlet stated, "the picket lines you see are from
Southern California where grocery clerks are on strike. The unions in
that region are increasingly discouraged by the strike's
ineffectiveness. Now they are extending the Southern California picket
lines to other areas in an effort to pressure Safeway and the other
unionized chains.''

Also handing out information, San Francisco resident Don Bechler said
he came to support the striking workers and address the larger problem
of health care.

"We have a crisis in America with health care, and Safeway is trying
to make it worse,'' said Bechler, chairman of the San Francisco
chapter of Health Care for All. "They are trying to take away and
worsen the health-care benefits for their workers.''

Safeway management claims, however, that union representatives are
exaggerating the issue.

"Health care is the main issue surrounding the grocery clerk's labor
dispute in Southern California and the unions have been working
overtime to distort the facts,'' the pamphlet reads.

The two sides in the dispute are still trying to hammer out an
agreeable contract, and negotiations are ongoing.