Grocery union talks progress
Two days after grocery store workers voted to let their union president call a strike, both sides are reporting progress on a new contract.
United Food and Commercial Workers Local 880, with about 13,000 members working at Fishers, Giant Eagle, F.W. Albrecht (Acme), Tops and Heinen's stores, has been negotiating since September on separate contracts for Canton-Akron area employees, Cleveland employees and meat cutters.
On Tuesday, a little less than 4,000 members voted to authorize President Tom Robertson to call a strike. Robertson had asked for the vote because he was not satisfied with the progress of negotiations.
The union, the five chains and a federal mediator issued a joint statement late Friday saying 'significant progress' has been made.
That progress lays the 'groundwork for the possibility of a settlement without a work stoppage,' the statement said.
Both sides plan to return to the bargaining table. The contract extension, which can be terminated with seven days' notice, remains in effect.
Health care, pensions and wages are the main issues in the negotiations, with both sides saying that non-union competition from stores, such as Wal-Mart and Marc's, make the Northeast Ohio market difficult.
Both sides said they will make no independent statements to the media.
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