Supermarket strike

[Chris Cognac]

Just wondering how everyone feels about the strike and if they are honoring the picket lines or still shopping at Ralph, Albertsons and Vons?. I am not going to shop until its over, I think those guys deserve support, but thats just my opinion....Whats yours?

[pdycaico]

I am not going to Vons, Ralphs or Albertsons. I went go to Costo instead. Bought large food. They have nice Flank steak with basil and feta. Now we will be eating the same very large meals...for a few weeks.

I agree on the support, tough job, crabby customers, on your feet all day for 20 years..then they yank your pension. Swine.

Good excuse to go to Harvest Ranch and Trader Joes though.

[tejon]

I skipped my usual trek to Ralph's yesterday, and chose Stater Brothers instead. I get most of my groceries from Trader Joe's and our local asian market, so it just meant a slightly longer drive.

[Fat Guy]

What's going on?

[Priscilla]

I'm not crossing the picket lines, neither. Not only do I support the protest of the health-care issues, but I most certainly do not want to offend the nice produce guy who will roll out a whole case of Brussels sprouts for me to root around in, or the long-suffering meat counter guy who will crack open today's box of Alaskan halibut just for meeee, or the lovely checker who just got her braces off who is so kind to my child.

You can't scare me I'm stickin' with the Union.

[Chris Cognac]

What's going on?

The workers of the 3 largest grocery chains in California have gone on strike as the companies wanted to make them pay for health care and also not get any wage increases....work more for less. So they are all on strike as of Saturday....Its a pretty big deal outnews station here and check it out on the site. It seems alot of people are supporting the strikers.....and to top it off there is now a transit strike as well!

[chezcherie]

It seems alot of people are supporting the strikers.....and to top it off there is now a transit strike as well!

Yes, with all the picket signs, it's *almost* like Paris....

Like Priscilla, I'm pals with my grocery workers, too, and I can get what I need at Costco, Trader Joe's and a few indie stores, so I'm staying away from the majors. Cutting the healthcare benefits so much is really hitting some folks where they live, IMHO.

[kitwilliams]

I am absolutely with the grocery workers and glad to see the support they are getting from the truckers as well as the general public.

Anyone near the Long Beach/Orange County border: make the trek to Huntington Beach to go to the recently reopened "Plowboys" (did we have a thread on Plowboys some time back?) Family-owned, fantastic produce at prices better than just about anywhere. Better-than-average Asian grocery products but a little more limited on your regular staples. And a terrific in-house butcher.

405 South to the Magnolia/Warner exit. Right at the top of the off-ramp, cross Warner and turn right into the parking lot.

[Priscilla]

KitWilliams funny you should mention Plowboys ... I have just stepped in once for garlic, but it was very nice garlic.

In the same shopping center there is a fantastic Indian takeaway place, Taste of India. Complex, subtle, delicious. And the people are nice. Don't forget the masala chai.

[tejon]

I love Taste of India! Their sag aloo is delicious, and the chicken tikka masala is incredible. Definitely try the masala chai - it's one of my favorite comfort warm drinks when it starts getting cooler here. I wish I was still close enough to go there often.

Edited October 14, 2003 by tejon (log)

[Priscilla]

Yes, Tejon, it's the Best Saag Aloo Ever, over to Taste of India. And, when I can tear myself away from the Saag Aloo, there's often Bharta, and the best Aloo Gobi, and so on. Perfection in naan. And the ethereal green chutney that accompanies the ethereal samosas ... well it's all just excellent.

And non-union!

[Squeat Mungry]

I assume that the reason our Northern California Albertson's and Safeways are not on strike is that there is a different union involved? At least I don't think they're on strike?

I don't shop at either, so I'm not sure, but I do live directly across the street from Safeway, and didn't notice anything... anybody in NoCal have details?

Thanks,

Squeat

[Mayhaw Man]

Are all of the large West Coast chains unionized? I used to like to look at the name tags at Ralph's when I was living in San Diego and see how long people had worked there (Wanda, 22 yrs. etc).

The concept was new to me as I grew up in the deep south and damn near nothing is unionized here (don't ask me why, some stupid cultural holdover ) and organizers fail over and over again to get it voted in when they bother to try.

Were I there I would not cross. Service workers in this country need all of the support they can get. Since it is becoming clear that that is the only kind of worker we are going to have left in a few years (my opinon, anyway) .

[mixmaster b]

I am continuing to throw my money away at Bristol Farms, where no one is on strike. I will avoid Pavillions, where I sometimes shop, till the strike is over.

The Doheny Bristol Farms is right across from a Ralph's. It was absolutely packed on Sunday afternoon with Ralph's regulars that did not want to cross the picket lines. Seems that the strikers are getting a lot of support!

[Priscilla]

There does seem to be a lot of support -- to a surprising degree, really. In Trader Joe's on Sunday, the first day of the strike, it was like full-on holiday shopping, long lines, holes in the inventory, etc.

Bristol Farms, that's a good one. Excellent fish, if one can avoid being run down by a crispy new Porsche Turbo Cayenne in the parking structure.

[JFLinLA]

Just to complicate the discussion (as she put her foot in her mouth), while I support the strikers, I think we all have to agree that rising health care costs are a real issue in the US, whether the employer picks up the tab or the employee does. Please understand that increases in costs of doing business will be passed on to us consumers in higher prices for eggs, poultry, produce, milk, etc. Furthermore, some alternatives to the stores being struck pay their workers a decent wage and provide benefits. Others do not. There has been a lot of discussion around the strike about the "Wal-Mart" effect on the grocery business.

Something to think about.

[SWoodyWhite]

The strike isn't affecting me personally, because I've been shopping mostly at non-union stores for some time (well over a year). I simply prefer the quality of the produce, my choice has nothing to do with the workers.

The Los Angeles transit strike is having an effect on the supermarket strike, of course. Supermarket workers who would normally take the bus to work are unable to get to their stores to do their part on the picket lines, simply because the busses aren't running. Someone wasn't paying much attention to scheduling! (Long Beach busses, being part of a separate transit authority, are still running.)

[hannahcooks]

Well, it was a pain in the rear trying to track down cake flour, which neither Bristol Farms, Whole Foods, or TJ's carries, without crossing a picket line, but I did. I have a lot of sympathy for the grocery workers. Less for the transit mechanics, whose troubles aremore (in my opinion) due to their union's mismanagement of their healthcare fund than the lack of MTA contribution.

[jschyun]

Well, after avoiding all the people standing in line and chanting, I found a new market! I have already forgotten the name, but I think it's called Henry's and it is a new health food market that opened up near my house and I never knew it until now. I got a really fresh large green pepper for 25 cents and a box of graham crackers to make key lime tarts with for $1.29.

Sweet!

--edit oh, Henry's workers are part of a union, but a different one.

Edited October 14, 2003 by jschyun (log)

[kitwilliams]

KitWilliams funny you should mention Plowboys ... I have just stepped in  once for garlic, but it was very nice garlic. 

In the same shopping center there is a fantastic Indian takeaway place, Taste of India.  Complex, subtle, delicious.  And the people are nice.  Don't forget the masala chai.

Priscilla: I've noticed Taste of India and wondered about it...thanks for the recommendation! I'll definitely stop in there after Plowboy's next weekend!

[russ parsons]

so kit, how do you compare this plowboys to the old one? were they ableto keep the quality the same after 4 or 5 years away?

[kitwilliams]

Russ:

I've been going to Plowboys since, well let's say that on my earliest outings there, I was sitting in the grocery cart. My mom did most of her shopping at Safeway, but usually made a trip to Plowboys every weekend, especially during the summer months. So, on initial sight of the new locale, my heart sank. No aluminum siding or sawdust on the cement floors. But the minute I walked into the produce department I was met by familiar faces. My first test was the watermelon bin. One of the employees was standing nearby and I asked him if he would pick me out a good one. He played them like the bongos, tapping them with his palms until he hit the one that sounded just right. I started feeling better.

Peaches were terrific (this was in August). Cantaloupes were being stacked and again I asked for the expert assistance. There was another melon I purchased, skin with the webbing of cantaloupe however I can't remember its name. When I served it to guests that weekend, one comment was "this is melon candy!"

This past weekend I noticed some purple and fingerling potatoes which were never seen when I was a kid. Those, along with that wonderful melon (I only saw those that one time) and the golden raspberries make me feel that they are trying to keep up with the farmers markets by bringing in some of the more interesting varieties of produce. It sure can't hurt, as long as the quality and price remain as consistent as the more common varieties of produce.

They still have better than average Asian and Mexican food sections -- I've fallen in love with a brand of Mexican soda, Penafiel, especially their sangria flavor (do they carry that at Taco Loco?).

And the butcher seems to be as great as ever. I purchased ground beef (for Marcella's ragu -- you're right, slow food weather is upon us) this week and the butcher who used to flirt with my mom is now flirting with me.

A few weeks ago, they had both golden and these amazing orange-y/apricot-y colored raspberries which I'd never seen before. 99 cents per basket. I bought eight. I remembered the first time I tasted golden raspberries. You don't expect them to taste like a raspberry but then they surprise you. Often more flavorful than your average raspberry. The flavor of these was awesome.

So in answer to your question, Russ, I believe they have retained their quality. The produce section doesn't seem quite as extensive but it looks as if they have room to add a few more display stands. And the prices can't be beat.

So I'm getting over the shock of seeing their name emblazoned across what looks like your run-of-the-mill supermarket and, after years away from Long Beach, I'm now keeping up my mom's weekly ritual of stocking up with produce at Plowboys.

And that bongo-beaten watermelon was the best all summer!

Boy, that nostalgia stuff can make one rather wordy!

And one last thing: the papayas and mangoes have been really good of late!

[SalsaLover]

I rarely shop at supermarkets, preferring smaller stores and specialty stores. There is quite a bit of support for the strikers, and some interviewed on local San Diego tv say that they understand if people have to cross the lines for bread or milk for the kids, but just ask folks not do their major shopping at one of these stores.

My usual market was open but all the parking lot lights were out and it was packed.

The health care and service worker issues are huge problems. Frankly, if this strike helps smaller stores, at least that is one positive, but hardly offsets the larger negatives. I hope it is resolved in the workers' favor.

[cheftoad]

I haven't crossed and I don't think I will. Everything is available somewhere else - it just disrupts the complacent SoCal endless stripmall mentality to have to take a few minutes to drive the SUV a little further. I mean, come on - it doesn't have to be super freakin' corporate to be good - there's some sort of grocery type store like every 500 feet.

[IrishCream]

My husband flew to SD on business yesterday afternoon. He called me when he got to his hotel and told me that he had stopped at a Von's to pick up some beer but saw the picket line and wouldn't cross it...so he was drinking tap water.

Someone mentioned Henry's upthread. My parents have been shopping at one in SD for years...it is a wonderful store for vegies and the only place I have ever found Reed avocados (to die for).