Grocery workers are fighting teachers' fight, too

In a spontaneous show of support for striking grocery workers in Southern California, CTA State Council delegates dug deep into their own pockets. Circulating grocery bags instead of hats, delegates collected nearly $9,000, which was then matched by CTA for a total contribution to the strike fund of $18,000.

"Their fight is going to be our fight next year," said Tony Mendoza as he walked around the Council meeting room wearing a sandwich board that said, "Teachers support grocery workers and MTA mechanics."

The United Teachers Los Angeles member and Council delegate is one of many teachers walking the picket lines with striking grocery store workers in Southern California.

Los Angeles teachers have held five demonstrations varying in size from 150 to 750 sympathizers to protest another issue - the school district's attempt to hijack $50 per student in ADA in order to establish "mini-districts" within Los Angeles Unified. As soon as the rallies were over, the participants marched en masse to the nearest Ralphs, Vons or Albertsons supermarket and joined strikers on the picket lines.

"We've adopted a store," said Mendoza. "We're walking the line with the workers there."

CTA President Barbara E. Kerr advised Council delegates that one of the strike's central issues is employers wanting to raise the amount workers are paying for health care coverage, a battle that many teachers are also fighting at the bargaining table.

With that, Kerr introduced Connie Leyva, president of Local 1428 of the United Food and Commercial Workers international union, who told Council, "We are fighting to preserve the middle class."

"We're fighting for livable wages," said Leyva. "We want dignity and respect on the job - dignity and respect we're not being shown at the table." Management has told employees that they don't deserve higher wages - "Even a monkey could do their jobs."

"The strikers are on the streets for workers everywhere," said Leyva. Whatever happens in the strike will have a domino effect, she warned. The increases in the cost of health care amount to a significant reduction in the workers' wages. It isn't a matter of the chains not being able to afford to provide benefits, it's that they don't want to pay. Leyva called it "corporate greed."

"It's a leveling down strike," said UTLA President John Perez. The corporate bosses are trying to permanently lower the standard of living for their workers. These strikers are "fighting our fight."

While the collection bags were being passed, other delegates took the floor at State Council to explain what it's like to be the husbands, wives, parents or teachers of striking grocery workers. Mary Strobridge, president of the San Miguel Teachers Association (San Luis Obispo County), told delegates her husband has been working in the grocery industry for 33 years, but with the "take-backs" in benefits at Ralphs, he won't be able to retire in 14 months as he had planned. "He feels betrayed."

Others took the microphone to warn teachers not to unwittingly accept a job as a scab or to willingly bag their own groceries because they'd be helping management put strikers out of work.

Steve Haiman, president of the Grossmont Education Association, said his members have been going to competitors like Trader Joes and buying "apples from the teachers" for the strikers.

Others said teachers are taking bottled water, sun screen, donuts, pizza and snacks to the strikers. Several chapters have made large contributions to the strike fund.

Even something as simple as honking horns is a welcome encouragement, said Leyva. "It tells us to keep it up. We're incredibly grateful. It's keeping us going in the face of 105-degree heat, smoke and ashes, and daily harassment from hired scabs."

What the grocery chains didn't count on was the strikers' ability to turn away customers and win public support, said Leyva. "We're kicking butt."

For more information, visit the UFCW's website [http://www.saveourhealthcare.org/].