NATION : Grocery Workers Agree to Talks
- Share via
Union negotiators representing 80,000 retail clerks and butchers agreed today to return to the bargaining table for a four-day session starting Friday to try to avert a strike at 800 Southern California supermarkets.
“We are going back into negotiations in the interest of both the public and our membership,” said Robert Bleiweiss, a spokesman for the United Food and Commercial Workers union.
The resumption of bargaining will at least delay a strike, which could have seen union workers walk off the job as early as 12:01 a.m. Friday. Bleiweiss said the soonest the walkout would begin now is 12:01 a.m. Tuesday.
The union’s negotiators had called for and rejected a “final offer” from six major supermarket chains Tuesday, but agreed to resume contract talks at the request of federal mediator Frank Allen, Bleiweiss said.
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
