Hundreds of warehouse employees at Smart & Final went on strike Wednesday in a dispute with the West Coast grocery chain over what their union characterized as unfair labor practices by the retailer, the union representing them announced.
The workers are protesting what Teamsters Local 630 said are plans by Smart & Final parent company Chedraui USA to close two warehouses and dismiss the workers at the facilities, which are in Commerce and Riverside, California, the labor organization said in a press release.
The affected employees will need to reapply for positions at a new warehouse in Rancho Cucamonga, California, that pay $10 to $12 less per hour, the Teamsters said.
The union said it is lodging unfair labor practice charges against Chedraui USA and Smart & Final with the National Labor Relations Board. In addition, the Teamsters accused the retailer of bad faith bargaining and said its plans violate a new state law that protects grocery workers if the facility where they work changes ownership.
The Teamsters also warned that Smart & Final “could experience massive supply chain disruptions during one of the busiest shopping times of the year.”
“With the busy summer months approaching, the company faces not just a moral but a logistical crisis,” Lou Villalvazo, Teamsters Local 630 secretary-treasurer, said in a statement. “They need to act now to guarantee our members their jobs, decent wages, respect and a fair contract. We will not stand by and watch these workers be exploited.”
Smart & Final said in an emailed statement that the Teamsters’ claims “are simply not true,” adding that it is combining five obsolete and capacity-constrained facilities spread over 2,000 square miles into a single location that will provide jobs for almost 1,000 workers.
“This will substantially reduce our carbon footprint and enable us to continue providing affordable food to communities in California that need it the most,” the company said.
Smart & Final also described the Teamsters’ assertion that the strike involved 600 workers as “wildly inaccurate,” adding that the labor action did not impede its operations.
“We are operating our distribution centers as usual with no major disruptions in order to continue to serve our customers who rely on us to feed their families,” the retailer said.
Workers at the Smart & Final facilities involved in the strike voted last year to join Teamsters Local 630 as part of an effort to gain “consistent standards, better health care, a path to retirement, an end of favoritism, job security, improved safety, and respect on the job,” the union said.
The Teamsters also represent workers at grocery retailers including Kroger and Costco.
