[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 25 (Tuesday, March 2, 2004)]
[House]
[Pages H730-H731]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1930
                   LONGEST MAJOR STRIKE IN UFCW ENDS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Becerra) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BECERRA. Mr. Speaker, I am here tonight to discuss the end of a 
long strike; in fact, the longest major strike in the history of the 
United Food and Commercial Workers Union, and the largest and longest 
strike in the history of the supermarket industry, a strike that saw 
the United Food and Commercial Workers hold the line in southern 
California.
  The dispute, which involved some 60,000 UFCW members employed at 852 
Safeway-owned Vons and Pavillions stores, Kroger-owned Ralphs and 
Albertsons stores, began back in October 11, 2003. Officials for the 
grocery store chain said their workers had a Cadillac health plan that 
the stores could not maintain in a market with nonunion competitors 
such as Wal-Mart. I am not sure I would call the plan in question a 
Cadillac plan, but the proposal to replace it was clearly a Yugo.
  Supermarket workers in southern California average about $12 to $14 
an hour, and most work less than 40 hours a week, not by choice. Under 
the employer's proposal, after 3 years an average worker would earn 
about $12.30 an hour, that is $369 a week before taxes are taken out, 
or about $19,000 a year. That is a salary that can keep a single mom 
and her children just above the poverty line; but cut her health care 
benefits or shift several thousand dollars worth of health care costs 
from the company on to her and a self-supporting working family can be 
reduced to near poverty.
  In fact, many workers will drop coverage because it will be too 
expensive and move over to Medi-Cal, which is California's Medicaid 
program for the elderly, poor, and disabled, as well as to other State 
and Federal programs for low-income workers. In my mind, this is safety 
net exploitation by employers. This marks a shift from the employer's 
books to the ledgers of the American taxpayer.
  Thankfully, for 5 months the picket line remained strong, members 
remained united, and customers honored the workers' picket lines. This 
is a testament to the rank-and-file UFCW workers and to the leadership 
of UFCW local leaders. To people like Rick Icaza, President, and Rod 
Diamond, Secretary-Treasurer of UFCW Local 770; to Connie Leyva, 
President of UFCW Local 1428; Michael Straeter, President of UFCW Local 
1442; to George Hartwell, President of Local 1036, Greg Conger, 
President of Local 324; Bill Lathrop, President of Local 1167; and 
Mickey Kasparian, President of Local 135 of the UFCW, we say thank you 
to you, and we hope that you will express our sincerest congratulations 
and thanks to all of your men and women in your locals who fought and 
stood tall throughout this entire 5-month long process.
  Every day support for the fight for affordable health care grew 
stronger. Community and religious leaders joined the cause. The 
southern California supermarket strike became a national cause as well. 
There were rallies, picket lines, and hand billing across America.
  The men and women on the picket lines are genuine heroes. Their 
sacrifice for affordable family health care has motivated and activated 
workers across the Nation. To the Webb family in Los Angeles I send a 
special message of esteem and pride. Andre and Dee, you, like many of 
your brothers and sisters, persevered. Christmas was tough this past 
December, but you weathered these difficult times in a way that makes 
all of us who are parents so very, very proud. And Andre, your daughter 
A.J. wrote you a letter for Valentine's Day, which many of us had a 
chance to read during the father-daughter dance at school, which you 
will never forget. She understood your fight and offered the best 
reason to stand firm. At 8 years of age, A.J. is already giving us a 
glimpse of the next generation of leaders for America.
  The labor struggle in southern California is one manifestation of a 
very large national debate on health care. Lack of access to quality 
health care and escalating health care costs are issues of concern to 
all Americans, particularly to communities that are minority and very 
poor, that suffer the highest rates of uninsured Americans, and are 
also among those that are least well covered because of 
disproportionate and disparate health care received by these 
communities.
  The lack of insurance is devastating to millions of families across 
America. We must make every effort to find ways to extend coverage and 
to work to end the erosion of employment-based health care coverage due 
to rising out-of-pocket health care costs that make insurance 
unaffordable for many workers. If the supermarket giants, profitable, 
growing corporations, can launch an attack on health care benefits, 
then every employer is sure to follow. They have sounded the alarm that 
the American health care system is under siege.

[[Page H731]]

  I say to all Americans who are working: Take note of what the United 
Food and Commercial Workers did over the last 5 months. They stood 
tall. Let us defend health care coverage for all Americans and we will 
fight to make sure our next generation also has it.

                          ____________________