South California union takes major step toward strike (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) ? The union representing 62,000 workers at Ralphs, Vons and Albertsons supermarkets in southern California said it has issued a 72-hour notice canceling the grocery contract extension, a move that paves the way for a strike.

Workers and the companies are at an impasse over healthcare coverage. Employees have been without a contract since it expired in March.

Kroger Co owns Ralphs, Safeway Inc owns Vons and Supervalu owns Albertsons. The three companies are negotiating as a group.

In 2003, southern California played host to the longest work stoppage in the history of the U.S. grocery industry. That bitter, four-and-a-half-month standoff shifted more than $1 billion in sales, and the loyalty of some shoppers, to competitors.

Grocery workers will begin final strike preparations following the 72-hour notice to cancel the contract, grocery workers union Local 770 said in a statement.

The union said canceling the contract does not mean grocery workers will walk out in 72 hours. After the contract is no longer in effect, a strike can be called at any time. (Reporting by Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles and Sakthi Prasad in Bangalore; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110916/us_nm/us_labor_supermarkets

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