(Unionvoice.org issued the following release on November 3.)
Close to 90,000 grocery workers are on strike or locked-out this week. They are fighting for jobs with good health care benefits and fair wages. Their employers–profitable grocery store super chains like Safeway-owned Vons and Albertsons and Ralphs–are insisting on the elimination of health care benefits for all new employees and refusing to adequately fund existing benefits for current employees. Eventually, health care benefits, under the companies’ proposal, would be effectively eliminated for 70,000 grocery store workers. Take action now by clicking on the link below or keep reading for more information.
http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/holdtheline/33egnaf7xb7j
Through their union, grocery store workers have made these good, solid retail jobs. Unlike workers in many nonunion service jobs, the union grocery store workers have secured family-supporting wages and benefits. Under the grocery employers’ proposal, these workers, who make $19,176 a year on average, would have to pay an average of $4,944 per family to maintain their current benefits. Health care costs like that would drive these workers into poverty!
You can help. Together, we need to let these companies know their actions are unacceptable, not just to their own workers, but to all of America. Please take one minute right now to send a fax to Safeway CEO Steve Burd by clicking on the link below. http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/holdtheline/33egnaf7xb7j
The companies want to turn tens of thousands of family-wage jobs with good benefits into low-wage jobs without meaningful health care benefits. Do we really need more of those types of jobs? These companies are very profitable. Safeway generated more than $10 billion (yes, that is a “b”) in profits last year. The CEO of Safeway–Steve Burd–gets enough loot that he is one of President Bush’s top campaign fund raisers–pledging to raise more than $200,000. After you send your fax to CEO Burd, please ask your friends, family and co-workers to help by forwarding this e-mail alert to them. Please also consider making a donation to the “Hold the Line for Health Care” strike fund. Help these workers with their everyday needs as they hold the line for all of us. https://secure.ga3.org/08/holdtheline/n5pqfqv11udSB Thanks for all you do.