CLEVELAND, January 19 — The following is an open letter from BLET National President Don M. Hahs to all BLET members regarding the on-going Southern California grocery strike.
Dear members,
I am writing to you about a strike that needs our support. Approximately 70,000 Southern California supermarket workers, members of the United Food and Commercial Workers, have been on the picket line since October 11, 2003, because their employers — Safeway, Albertson’s and Kroger — are making demands that labor believes will effectively eliminate health care benefits at work.
The AFL-CIO has asked the BLET to assist in expanding campaign activities in support of these grocery workers to Safeway stores in the following cities: Bay area/San Francisco; Baltimore, Md.; Portland, Ore.; Seattle, Wash.; and Washington, D.C. These are key markets for Safeway, the leader in the assault on these workers. I am asking our divisions in these areas to participate in campaign activities to support these workers in their struggle and not shop at Safeway until these grocery workers have a new contract agreement.
Corporate greed is at a fever pitch, which we have not seen since the times of the robber barons. Giant corporations nationwide are aggressively pursuing an agenda to gut contracts, lower living standards and destroy working standards for working men and women. Health care benefits are under attack nationwide, with corporations simply dropping employee coverage or putting the cost of employee health care premiums out of reach for working people. Currently, 44 million Americans — more than 80 percent of whom come from working families — have no health insurance.
The companies involved in the grocery strike — Safeway, Albertson’s and Kroger — are demanding to split the workers’ health care fund into two separate components for new and current employees. Their proposal for a cap on health fund contributions for new hires would provide no meaningful protection and immediately would push those workers on to welfare for their medical needs. Current, older employees would face a choice between drastic benefit cuts or unaffordable employee-paid premiums within two years.
If these wealthy corporations succeed in destroying affordable health care, there will be no stopping a corporate tidal wave that will sweep away benefits in other contracts for workers in every industry. Mobilizing on behalf of these striking workers is the best protection for our own members and contracts.
I have listed below the contact names and phone numbers for the AFL-CIO coordinators in each of the action areas.
Bay Area/San Francisco
George Curtin (510) 663-4010
Lisa Hoyas (510) 282-0440
Baltimore, Md.
Vincent O’Brien (202) 637-5287
Oscar Sanchez (202) 637-5179
Portland, Ore.
Paul Krisell (503) 559-0068
Seattle, Wash.
Bob Gorman (206) 448-4888
Washington, D.C.
Vincent O’Brien (202) 637-5287
Oscar Sanchez (202) 637-5179
If we act now, we can make a difference in this fight.
Fraternally,
/s/
Don M. Hahs
National President