29 Replies to "Grocery workers' contract talks to resume next week"

• Baba November 12, 2010 (3:11 pm)

  I certainly didn’t hear any discussion about reduction of pay, health-benefits and pension cuts for gov. employees reported from today’s City Council meeting…

  • WSB November 12, 2010 (3:15 pm)

    More than 200 are losing their jobs. That could be construed as a cut of all three.

• Carson November 12, 2010 (3:47 pm)

  And another 300 in the County as well…http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2013411401_kingbudget12m.html

• Baba November 12, 2010 (3:58 pm)

  WSB and Carson you make it sound like this 200 + 300 number is a big deal. It’s just a tiny step in the right direction , that’s all, imho.
  Plus,it’s apples to oranges. You will agree that individual financial “details” of the gov. worker layoff are not the same as the ones of the clerk from Safeway.

• miws November 12, 2010 (4:12 pm)

  Then why did you bring it up, Baba?

  .

  Mike

  • WSB November 12, 2010 (4:28 pm)

    I will usually not take the bait. But because we cover so much of what government does around here as well as private industry: Some, if not all, of the people who are losing their jobs are people who are no better off than the average grocery worker, if you are trying to draw a comparison there. There are folks who put on the programs at local community centers who are losing their jobs in dramatic cutbacks like the ones affecting five centers including Alki, even with the 15-hour add-back today … earnest people of all ages who we hear from at all hours of the day and night, even when they are not on the clock, because they want to be sure we heard about something amazing that is happening with the people with whom they work, whether it’s an official center program or something unpaid volunteers are doing. These people’s salaries are public because they’re public employees, and you can read the information for yourself to see whether they’ve been making enough to live on, as is the situation with which many private-sector employees have been grappling. That’s just one example. If those 500 or so workers lose their jobs – where do you believe they should be working instead, or do you believe they should not be working at all? As a citizen as much as a journalist, that’s what I wonder about. 500 jobs lost is 500 jobs lost, whether it’s government employment or private employment. I have never worked for government but I have been laid off and I can’t imagine it will feel any different to the government employees who get/got the pink slips than it did to me – TR

• Carson November 12, 2010 (4:29 pm)

  what Mike said….

• coffee November 12, 2010 (5:07 pm)

  I cannot figure out why everyone wants more pink slips handed out at the government level. I hear so much complaining about how things are not maintained, open, fixed, services not available, etc, how do people think that these functions get done if 500 people loose their jobs? The need for services from the government is on the rise not the decline….

• Diane November 12, 2010 (5:11 pm)

  Mike, you are so awesome
  ~
  added to what WSB said, as one of the zillions who have been searching for work for 2 yrs in an already insanely competitive job market, adding 500 more laid off folks, plus all the people getting dumped off unemployment, just keeps making it harder and harder to get a job; and I would be THRILLED to have the job & pay that these grocery workers are complaining about

• Baba November 12, 2010 (5:21 pm)

  The was no bait, 3 on 1…? I can handle it…
  It has nothing to do with how much this people are/were making (although their salaries and gov. benefits surpasse by far the grocery worker’s).
  .

  as a taxpayer, I AM THE EMPLOYER OF THEM!!! (please laugh at me all you want). We, the majority, voted NO on more taxes in this state! This 500 cut, to the extent, is the will of the people of WA!
  .
  miws, I brought it up because every human being in this country deserves to be treated equally , regardless of the fact if he or she works for the gov.or not.

• Michele November 12, 2010 (5:49 pm)

  Actually Diane, it’s not just pay. and it is not complaining, it’s standing up for what is fair and right. Have you ever worked grocery?

  It’s hard work, not to mention having to put up with at times callus and insensitive people who seem to not really get what the big picture is.

• pam November 12, 2010 (6:10 pm)

  So are they walking out on Monday as I heard or is the walk out delayed until after the negotiations?

  (meaning, do I need to get my turkeys this weekend?)

• miws November 12, 2010 (6:24 pm)

  Thanks for your input on this TR. I know, and very much respect that you generally don’t “editorialize” here on WSB, (in fact, including the above, I could probably count on two fingers how many times you have done so.)

  .

  Diane, you make me blush! ;)

  .

  Mike

• Smitty November 12, 2010 (7:10 pm)

  King County budget went from 5.0 billion in 2010 to 5.1 billion in 2011.

  Just sayin’

• Carson November 12, 2010 (9:06 pm)

  What are you saying Smitty, that it went up a whopping .98%? Thats a decimal in front of the 98, as in less than 1%? When you consider most budget items are forecast many years out, less that 1% is pretty good. Actually, better than most fictional Fortune 500 Companies…I wish we could keep our personal budget growth under 1% …

• Jordan November 12, 2010 (11:03 pm)

  Well, actually it is a 2% growth and the fortune 10 company I work for has reduced all expenses each year for the last several years (yes that means LESS money going out each year).

  That 2% increase is being covered by fewer people who already having to cover more of the existing budget. Our State, County and Local governments are all needing to re-prioritize their spending and they need to focus far more on infrastructure and what provides the greatest good for the greatest number with the fewest dollars.

• duder November 13, 2010 (11:05 pm)

  Local grocery workers lose some pay than local businesses might lose some as well. They are trying to hold on to what they have, which is hardly princely.

  Hey Diane, I won’t be using your babysitting services. You’re not willing to support your neighbors than why should your neighbors support you?

  Support the grocery workers.

• redblack November 14, 2010 (7:30 am)

  a $5.1 billion budget for the – i think – 13th most populous county in the nation is pretty reasonable.
  .
  and please stop equating/conflating government operating budgets with businesses. they’re nothing alike.
  .
  for one thing, government has to help everyone – and everything – under its authority with very limited resources. and it doesn’t take profit.
  .
  regarding the UFCW contract, if the union fails to negotiate cost-of-living increases, it is, in effect, a pay and benefit cut in a long series of pay and benefit cuts. the dollar is in a controlled, slow-motion collapse, so keeping pay levels static is the same as cutting pay. and it’s no fun when you can’t afford to buy groceries from the place where you work.
  .
  it should be noted that kroger is making profit. i think they should spread that profit to the employees.

• Baba November 14, 2010 (9:33 am)

  “and it doesn’t take profit.” I have to agree on this one with you redblack…
  .
  Losses double for U.S. Postal Service
  NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The U.S. Postal Service more than doubled its losses in fiscal year 2010, despite cutting billions of dollars in expenses and trimming its staff.

  The Postal Service said its net loss totaled $8.5 billion in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30. That compares to a loss of $3.8 billion the prior year.

• redblack November 14, 2010 (10:31 am)

  like king county, USPS is required to run a balanced budget by law. i think it’s also relevant to note that USPS is the only federal service/agency that is mandated by the constitution.
  .
  USPS is quite solvent, and it is not funded by taxpayers, except for the cost of overseas absentee ballots and postage-free mailing for the blind. other than that, it is funded solely by ratepayers.
  .
  a couple of the most glaring factors for USPS’s recent budget shortfalls:
  .
  currently the misery is not being spread to bulk mailers, who actually receive discounts.
  .
  USPS funds its future retirees’ health benefits 10 years into the future. this could be tweaked pretty easily to help their budget.
  .
  USPS also contracts some mail sorting to private companies, which are rife with inefficiency and waste.
  .
  technology is forcing USPS to adapt, which necessitates some “growing pains,” especially given the government oversight that they endure – compared to UPS or fed-ex.
  .
  to help their bottom line, i would gladly pay a dollar for a first-class stamp, especially considering that i no longer have to use USPS to pay most of my bills.
  .
  all-in-all, i think the USPS is one of the best things our federal government does, and the cost of first-class mail is dirt cheap for its benefits.

• Baba November 14, 2010 (7:18 pm)

  Very comprehensive response! Thanks! Do you work or know someone that works at USPS?
  .
  …Without congressional action to change its obligations, officials said, the Postal Service likely will go broke at the end of fiscal 2011.
  .
  The Postal Service also announced Friday that it plans to deplete its $15 billion line of credit with the U.S. Treasury by borrowing the remaining $3.5 billion available. Though the Postal Service does not use taxpayer funding, it has tapped the credit line since the early 1990s. Depleting it means the Postal Service likely will go broke at the end of fiscal 2011 unless Congress takes action, officials said Friday.
  .
  So, let me get it straight. In roughly 20 years, USPS lost $15 bln.That’s a heck of a business model, pardner! I hope they don’t run Obamacare this way…

• redblack November 14, 2010 (7:57 pm)

  apologies. i realize that the conversation is about UFCW, not the USPS.
  .
  to any of the hourly employees who works for the stores affected by the contract negotiations: i hope you get every benefit that your negotiators are working toward.
  .
  you earn it every day, you deserve it, and you should know that your community appreciates and supports you.

• redblack November 15, 2010 (6:12 am)

  baba, like almost everything else i get from CNN, i think there’s a lot missing from that story. someone has an agenda to either over-regulate the post office, or under-regulate it with an aim toward privatizing it, and they’re trying to stir up trouble.
  .
  i don’t work for USPS, but i’ve heard postal workers say that the agency is poorly managed, and that its deficit problems could be fixed easily.
  .
  and what is obamacare? the new legislation is the farthest thing from socialized medicine that anyone could conceive. and anyway, congress wrote the legislation, not obama. and it’s a boon to the insurance industry. it makes them actually, like, you know, insure people fairly and equally for a change.
  .
  do you have anything to say about the impending UFCW strike, baba, or do you just dispense talking points and political insults?

• Jasmine November 15, 2010 (10:53 am)

  Does anyone know if there is going to be a walk out today?

• Baba November 15, 2010 (11:26 am)

  Do I support the strike? YES! It’s their right. Will it accomplish anything? YES (short term) and NO! (long term). Short term, I’m certain, workers will get what they want (they don’t call them negotiations for nothing).Long term though, workers are exposing themselves to outright pink slips in the future. Market forces will make sure the “Big four” will do just that.
  .
  As you know, I’m a strong proponent of reducing our living standards voluntarily. And government needs to lead the way in that. The thinking that every problem can be solved by bailouts, higher taxes or gov. intervention will destroy this great country eventually.
  .
  Yes, it’s a very painful process, no doubt, and it goes totally against the human nature. But like the guy that self amputated his arm stuck in the furnace…He saved his life!
  .

• redblack November 15, 2010 (6:35 pm)

  wrong, wrong, and wrong.
  .
  when they crafted the constitution, our founding fathers’ goal was for us to INCREASE our living standards.
  .
  anything less is just an excuse for being exploited by the wealthy. and by betraying the working class, you betray your country.
  .
  PERIOD.

• Baba November 15, 2010 (7:03 pm)

  Sorry, my period was just a typo.
  .
  But if you do not object, I’m going to copy and save this discussion, so we can quote each other, lets say next year or later…
  .
  WSB,can you please post this link here? I realize it’s a bit off topic, but this subject was brought up on this thread already.Thank you.
  http://biggovernment.com/wthuston/2010/11/15/obamacare-waivers-prove-policy-is-a-jobs-killer-unions-benefit-most

• redblack November 15, 2010 (8:05 pm)

  yeah, baba. but you evidently don’t realize that most union health care benefits are paid solely by the employer.
  .
  if american medicine really was socialized – which “obamacare” doesn’t even come close to doing – those premiums would be lower, and they would be distributed more evenly between management and labor via taxation. i.e. everyone’s costs would be lowered.
  .
  furthermore, if we had a real health care system – a true system, unlike the b.s. ad-hoc for-the-most-profit insurance model we have in the u.s. – strikes by unions like UFCW would not be necessary.
  .
  what else you got?
  .
  btw, WSB uses wordpress. the codes for embedding links and soforth are found here, at the bottom of the page.

• MIss J November 17, 2010 (11:41 am)

  PLease…to the person who said they want grocey store wages..they are hiring…what is really sad is the kids who work at this grocery store…is not going to work because of this strike…alll he wants to do is work..so sad

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