CALIFORNIA TEAMSTERS STRIKE AT SMART & FINAL AFTER ALLEGING NEARLY 100 VIOLATIONS OF FEDERAL LABOR LAW

More than 600 workers walk out of smart and final distribution centers Riverside And Trade

LOS ANGELES, June 19, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — More than 600 warehouse workers represented by Teamsters Local 630 at two Chedraui-owned Smart & Final grocery warehouses in Southern California led an unjust strike today, protesting mass layoffs and other unfair labor practices.

Without these long-time, hard-working employees, Smart & Final could experience massive supply chain disruptions during one of the busiest shopping periods of the year. Yet Smart & Final refuses to comply with the law and continues to carry out its illegal plan to fire all of these employees and transfer their work to new facilities.

“Time is running out for Chedraui/Smart & Final to make things right,” said Lou Villalvazo, secretary-treasurer of Teamsters Local 630. “The company continues to use unfair labor practices, with no respect for its workers. As the busy summer months approach, the company faces not only a moral crisis, but also a logistical crisis “It must act now to guarantee our members decent jobs and wages, respect and a fair contract. We will not stand by and watch these workers be exploited.”

“Nobody wants to strike,” said Juan Fernandez, 24-year veteran of Smart & Final. “It’s the last thing we thought we’d have to do. But when our jobs, our families’ futures and our dignity are at stake, we have no choice. It’s the only option that Chedraui/Smart & Final leaves us to protect our livelihoods from a company that seems to have forgotten who runs it.

Teamsters fight Chedraui’s plans UNITED STATESthe American subsidiary of the Mexican grocery giant Grupo Comercial Chedraui, will close two unionized Smart & Final warehouses in Trade And Riverside, California., and fire the dedicated workers who have kept the Smart & Final brand profitable over the past decades. These workers are now forced to reapply for jobs at $10 has $12 less per hour in a new warehouse Rancho Cucamonga, California.

The story continues

The Teamsters are currently bringing a wide range of unfair labor practice charges before the National Labor Relations Board. Chedraui UNITED STATES/Smart & Final is also accused of negotiating in bad faith and maintaining an illegal proposal that violates California Assembly Bill (AB) 647, which took effect in January 2024 and guarantees the retention rights of grocery distribution center employees when the facilities in which they work undergo a change of control.

“We are not just numbers on a payroll; we are the backbone of Smart & Final,” said Daniel Delgado, 20-year veteran of Smart & Final. “It’s time for the company to see us as essential and not replaceable. We demand the dignity that comes from knowing you have a job the next day and respect for a good collective agreement. We will accept nothing less.”

The two warehouses on strike serve as distribution centers for more than 250 Smart & Final grocery stores in California, Nevada, ArizonaAnd Northern Mexico.

Last year, more than 600 dedicated employees in Smart & Final’s warehouses Trade And Riverside, Californiasuccessfully voted to join Teamsters Local 630 despite a harsh anti-union campaign from their management in both elections, including the company announcing its closure just over a week before the vote . Riverside elections in an attempt to dissuade employees from unionizing with the Teamsters.

This is the second strike over unfair labor practices organized by these workers.

The strike coincides with a growing trend of unrest in the grocery industry, where major grocery chains continue to report record profits, often at the expense of their workers and the public, as the cost of food rises.

For more than 80 years, Teamsters Local 630 has represented California workers in warehousing, food service, liquor, food processing, dairy and other industries. To learn more, visit teamsters630.org.

Contact:
Christian Castro(310) 857-9817
[email protected]

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SOURCE Teamsters Local 630