Need advice in case of grocery workers strike (insurance, lawyers)

[1AngryTaxPayer]

Originally Posted by earlyretirement

I totally agree that these employees would be shooting themselves in the foot to strike right now while the economy is so poor. I doubt they are going to get sympathy from most people out there. Certainly not me.

Hard to believe all of these stores will close down during the strike but I agree things can be uncomfortable during a strike.

I was in Toronto a few months ago on vacation and I didn't know there was a strike going on. I rented a car at the airport and imagine my surprise when some guys holding strike signs were just staring at me and waiting for me to load up all my suitcases in the SUV I had rented.

There was a police officer right next to them. So one of the scruffy looking guys that was wearing all camouflage clothing and looked like he didn't shave in 2 weeks, hands me a flyer and tells me that I shouldn't be renting from the car rental company and that their benefits were getting reduced, yadda, yadda, yadda. And that I should return the car and go rent one from their competitor.

I was in a hurry so I told them good luck but the car was already rented, I wasn't from Canada and couldn't do anything about it. That I was on an airplane for the past 12+ hours flying on an international flight with 2 young kids and the last thing I wanted to do while my 2 kids were in the car crying was listen to people on strike. So imagine my surprise when the police officer told me I had to hear them out. He said that by law I had to give them 3 minutes to talk and I couldn't leave or they could block my car until they spoke their 3 minutes.

It was an uncomfortable situation. My philosophy is if you aren't happy with your job or work conditions, or salary...quit and try to find a new one if you think you are worth it and can find another job.

I stand by my opinion that these people will get little sympathy from the general public right now... These people should be thankful they have a job right now.

That would be unlawful detainment in the US. It probably is in Canada too. Youtube sure shut down that union strong arm thug cr*p.

[earlyretirement]

Originally Posted by 1AngryTaxPayer

That would be unlawful detainment in the US. It probably is in Canada too. Youtube sure shut down that union strong arm thug cr*p.

No kidding 1AngryTaxPayer. At least the USA hasn't fallen into those kinds of depths. I asked a friend that lives in Toronto and he told me that is EXACTLY how it is. Apparently, in past years, things would get ugly with these people on strike so now by law I guess they have a few minutes to talk to you if you are using a company that has employees on strike.

I'm not sure how many minutes but they were literally blocking the back of my car so that I couldn't have left the parking lot. And to be honest, if the police officer wasn't there it would have felt really creepy.

At the Toronto airport the rental cars are on the lower level of the parking garage so it was very dark and imagine if you have these shady looking guys, dressed poorly in camouflage clothes that don't allow you to leave without talking to them. Just felt strange and I'm sure glad we don't allow those types of things in the USA.

Some things I do laugh at though. Like at Target, when you enter there is a sign that clearly says "NO SOLICITING" and typically you have people soliciting right under the sign. It's a bit comical. I was going to take a photo the last time as it was funny. And the security guards and employees of Target don't seem to care either....

[Kaligirl]

I just had to share: It has come to my attention that grocery store prices are based on demographics.

How I found out: A few years back.... Imagine my surprise when I went to the same chain store to get more of a product that my local one had run out of and they wanted to charged almost $2 more for the exact product. I said how is this possible and they informed me "that is just the way it's done". Basically this their store and that is their pricing.

I called a friend whose husband worked for a grocery store chain and she confirmed it. It was such a huge difference that they rarely shopped at the one he worked at, because of the huge difference. Pricing policy is all based on demographics, it's the grocery store secret! Areas with lower income wages, mobile homes, aparentment/rentals, retirees on fixed incomes etc.. have better pricing.

So after some research and ad watching, I now shop in a different store that's slightly out of my area for the best prices and when I spend about $90 there, I know I would have spent easily $120-125 at my old store.

Happy Hunting!

[oddstray]

I read or heard that Ralphs and Albertsons are planning to close, if there's a strike. If they have enough wealth built up that they can afford to close during a strike, they've been charging me too much already, and there's no good reason they can't continue paying for their employee health care as they have in the past.

Since the last strike, we generally shop at Stater's and Trader Joe's, and only go to R/V/A if they have something we can't get elsewhere. So it's really a moot point for us.

[1AngryTaxPayer]

Originally Posted by oddstray

I read or heard that Ralphs and Albertsons are planning to close, if there's a strike. If they have enough wealth built up that they can afford to close during a strike, they've been charging me too much already, and there's no good reason they can't continue paying for their employee health care as they have in the past.

Since the last strike, we generally shop at Stater's and Trader Joe's, and only go to R/V/A if they have something we can't get elsewhere. So it's really a moot point for us.

If they shutter stores they are looking to be cost neutral. If they leave them open they will lose more money is probably the thought here.

[3chidogs]

I shopped at Stater Bros anyway in L.A. county, but there aren't any in San Diego that I could find.
Thanks for all the replies, though. It helps.

[earlyretirement]

Originally Posted by 3chidogs

I shopped at Stater Bros anyway in L.A. county, but there aren't any in San Diego that I could find.
Thanks for all the replies, though. It helps.

Yeah, there are Stater Bros here. My wife goes to one in Rancho Penasquitos. That may be too far from you but you can see where they are with the store locator.

Stater Bros. Markets - Locate a Store Near You

[AADAD]

Originally Posted by 1AngryTaxPayer

If they shutter stores they are looking to be cost neutral. If they leave them open they will lose more money is probably the thought here.

They still have the fixed costs of property, SDGE and taxes. So they will be losing money by the buckets. You are correct these are rich companies so maybe they won't crack. They sure treat their employees like crap.

[earlyretirement]

The public this time around is clearly against the workers. They will have VERY little sympathy if they do end up striking. I'd gladly cross the picket line to shop wherever is more convenient for me and close to me to shop. No reason to drive out of the way just to avoid these people on strike, IMHO.

Also, if these stores get tired of these unions and just closed, these employees don't get that they most likely will be out of a job for a long long time. So they should think of the longer term possibilities. It's not like most of them are highly skilled.

Also, they are WAY out of touch with reality if they don't understand that many employers ask their employees to pay some healthcare costs. I read somewhere that many of them hired a while ago aren't paying ANYTHING. And others are only paying $7 a week or $15 a week with a family. Come on..that is almost nothing. If they don't realize that, they are very out of touch with reality.

I'm not sure how much more the company is asking them to pay but it doesn't sound like too much. Just for comparison, I pay $1,200 a month for insurance coverage for myself, my wife and 2 young kids. So I don't have much sympathy for these people.

I'm not sure how these companies treat their employees. But I don't think it's unrealistic to expect them to pay a bit higher health care insurance costs.

[AADAD]

I would like to see the actual costs that they are being asked to pay before passing that strong a judgement....these are workin' people on their feet day after day....gotta look out for the little guy..no?