Safeway and Kroger have managed to avert a strike by around 20,000 workers at their grocery outlets in Arizona, after agreeing to a tentative deal with union leaders just hours before the protest was to begin. No details of the new deal have been released yet, and union leaders will vote on an unspecified date to decide whether to ratify the deal.
Until a decision is taken on the new deal, all sides have agreed to extend the previous contract. The unions said that work will not stop, and all stores will continue to operate normally.
One of the major points of dispute was a health care fee for new employees, which would see some workers paying nearly $800 a year. Workers also wanted a pay increase, saying some of them had not got a raise in nine years. The grocery chains had offered new proposals in September that were rejected by union members.
Namnews - Monday 16th November 2009
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