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Southern California grocery workers authorize a strike amid contract negotiations

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Southern California grocery workers authorize a strike amid contract negotiations

Battered by two years of pandemic stress, tens of 1000’s of Southern California grocery employees voted to authorize a strike if supermarkets don’t meet their wage calls for as negotiations on a brand new contract resume within the coming weeks.

The vote, taken over 5 days, could lead on to walkouts starting at some Albertsons, Vons, Pavilions and Ralphs markets stretching from Central California to the Mexican border.

The United Meals and Industrial Employees introduced its seven native unions voted “overwhelmingly” in favor of authorizing a strike, however delayed releasing a full breakdown of votes, citing a glitch in its digital voting system.

A spokeswoman for Los Angeles-based Native 770, which incorporates 18,000 grocery employees, stated 94.3% of these voting favored the strike.

A 3-year contract masking 47,000 employees at 540 shops expired March 6. Negotiations over a brand new settlement started in January however stalled three weeks in the past. Employees search substantial wage bumps, larger minimal hours for part-timers and store-level well being and security committees as pandemic considerations persist.

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“These corporations can both come to the desk prepared to barter a good deal or we’re going to need to take this battle elsewhere,” stated Kathy Finn, secretary-treasurer of UFCW Native 770 in Los Angeles and a lead negotiator.

Bargaining is ready to renew Wednesday.

Rachel Fournier, a member of the UFCW Native 770 bargaining committee, stands on the union headquarters in Los Angeles as members made strike-ready indicators Monday.

(Christina Home/Los Angeles Instances)

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The vote, which permits union leaders to name a strike if a pact can’t be reached, ratchets up strain on two of the nation’s largest grocery chains: Kroger, the guardian firm of Ralphs, and Albertsons, which owns Vons and Pavilions.

The showdown comes at a time of labor unrest throughout the nation. Grocery employees, acutely aware of their pandemic-related “important” standing, have dug of their heels, not simply in California, however in Oregon, Colorado and different states.

Staff at different giant corporations together with Amazon and Starbucks are looking for to unionize. And labor shortages are plaguing industries throughout the nation as staffers swap jobs for larger pay. Inflation is surging to document ranges in California and throughout the U.S.

In contrast to Southern California’s practically five-month grocery strike in 2003 and 2004 , throughout which the union’s full workforce walked out after the chains pushed to slash wages and advantages, this month’s authorization is framed as an “unfair labor observe” motion. Below federal regulation, that enables walkouts at chosen shops as an alternative of a full-blown strike.

The union filed claims this month with the Nationwide Labor Relations Board that the supermarkets sought to intimidate and illegally affect employees — allegations the businesses deny.

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Grocery employees’ misery constructed over time as their pay has didn’t sustain with the excessive value of residing in Southern California and corporations have moved greater than two-thirds of their workforce to part-time standing.

Within the Los Angeles space, a residing wage — outlined because the minimal earnings for a employee to satisfy fundamental wants — ranged from $19.22 for a single individual with out youngsters to $34.01 for households with two working adults and three youngsters in 2020, in response to the most recent knowledge in a residing wage calculator created by the Massachusetts Institute of Know-how.

The UFCW is asking that the best paid longtime employees — meals clerks that embrace cashiers and shelf stockers — get a $5 hourly elevate by the top of a brand new three-year contract. They presently earn $22.50 an hour after 5 to seven years. The businesses provided a $1.80 elevate.

A 3rd of the workforce falls into the meals clerk class.

One other third of grocery employees — basic merchandise clerks together with deli meals preparers and non-food stockers — now earn a most of $17.02 an hour. The union would elevate that by $8 an hour over three years, saying they carry out comparable work to the higher-paid meals clerks. The businesses provided $2.

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Bargaining has but to start on the lowest-paid third of the workforce — baggers and clerk’s helpers who earn barely over the state’s $15 minimal wage.

Kroger and Albertson’s supply medical and retirement advantages in contrast to many non-union retailers. The UFCW’s wage proposals “would result in $400 extra in month-to-month grocery payments for many Southern California households [and] push prospects to non-union opponents who don’t respect collective bargaining,” stated John Votava, Ralph’s company affairs director.

Non-union markets akin to Amazon-owned Entire Meals and Dealer Joe’s are fierce opponents. And non-union retailers akin to Walmart and Goal have expanded their grocery companies in recent times.

Supermarkets historically function on skinny revenue margins of about 2%. However the pandemic turbocharged revenues as eating places closed and extra individuals ate at dwelling. Kroger’s working revenue practically doubled to $4.3 billion from 2019 to 2021.

In 2020, the corporate paid out $1.3 billion to buyers — cash that employees say ought to have gone to pay them extra as they confronted COVID-19 dangers on the job. Kroger Chief Govt Rodney McMullen was criticized for gathering a $22.4-million pay bundle in 2020 — his largest ever — at the same time as the corporate ended a $2 an hour hazard bonus for frontline employees after two months.

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A pair of hands frames posters in support of a strike vote for grocery workers in Southern California.

A strike would have an effect on tens of 1000’s of employees throughout 540 grocery shops stretching from Central California to the border with Mexico.

(Christina Home/Los Angeles Instances)

When the cities of Los Angeles and Lengthy Seaside handed ordinances final yr requiring chains to supply a number of months of hazard pay, Ralphs closed 5 markets saying they have been “financially unsustainable.”

“Grocery employees are important,” stated John Grant, president of Native 770. “They’re not simply replaceable given the labor scarcity. We don’t need one other disruption. however we’re ready to strike.”

On the Los Angeles headquarters of UFCW Native 770 this week, two dozen grocery employees hammered picket sticks onto indicators studying “STRIKE,” “HUELGA” and “PLEASE RESPECT OUR PICKET LINE” in purple, black and white letters.

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Amongst them was Rachel Fournier, a 34-year-old cashier, who has labored 17 years at a Los Angeles Ralphs. Her hourly pay is now $22.50, the corporate’s most. Regardless of repeated requests, she has by no means been capable of acquire full-time standing.

“Working 28 hours every week doesn’t pay the hire,” she stated. “It’s not going to place meals in your youngsters’ bellies.”

Full-time employees get barely higher advantages and extra holidays, she stated, so the corporate’s pc system flags employees whose hours rise “and so they bump you down to forestall you from qualifying.”

Fournier’s husband is disabled after a automotive accident, and she or he has taken in her sister and a roommate as boarders to make ends meet. Nonetheless, she stated, she recurrently runs out of cash earlier than her paycheck hits her checking account.

“Twenty years in the past this was a center class job,” she stated. “However the corporations have been squeezing and squeezing us with meager wage will increase over the previous few contracts.”

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Over two years, 7,709 grocery employees in Native 770 have contracted COVID-19, in response to knowledge supplied to the union by the shops. The pandemic has created “a spirit that we have to rise up for ourselves,” Fournier stated. “Persons are fed up and so they’re wanting to stroll out.”

Marco Escalante, 46, was additionally on the headquarters, stacking indicators in preparation for a strike.

After 24 years at a Vons in Echo Park, Escalante makes $22.50 an hour on a midnight to eight:30 a.m. shift unpacking pallets and stacking cabinets. He wish to work full time however usually will get simply 30 hours every week.

Given inflation, the corporate’s supply of 60 cents an hour extra for every of the subsequent three years quantities to a pay reduce and “a slap within the face,” he stated.

Escalante, who has a working spouse and three youngsters, was a pacesetter within the 2003-04 strike. “After nearly 5 months, they broke us,” he recalled. “Each contract since then has been 20 cents right here, 20 cents there. I used to be making more cash 15 years in the past than I’m now.”

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The pandemic has modified the bargaining dynamic, he stated. “Our members received sick and took it dwelling. Prospects have been throwing matches on the shops. And the businesses have been saying you solely have so many sick days so you must come to work. They’ve proven no empathy for our sacrifices.”

Escalante sees ever-stronger pro-union sentiments amongst youthful employees. Authorizing a strike, he stated, reveals the businesses, “We all know they’ve made billions in income and we’re not afraid to exit. There’s a giant change coming.”

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Trump gets last-minute round of big-name endorsements including Joe Rogan, son of Roberto Clemente

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Trump gets last-minute round of big-name endorsements including Joe Rogan, son of Roberto Clemente

On the eve of the U.S. election, President Trump received a round of last-minute endorsements from high-profile names, including Joe Rogan and Roberto Clemente Jr., son of the baseball legend. 

With less than 24 hours to go before the election, podcaster and comedian, Joe Rogan formally endorsed Trump for president, ending speculation. 

Posting on X, Rogan highlighted his nearly three hour interview with SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, who has already supported Trump. 

“The great and powerful @elonmusk. If it wasn’t for him we’d be f—ed,” Rogan said. “He makes what I think is the most compelling case for Trump you’ll hear, and I agree with him every step of the way.” 

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Podcaster Joe Rogan endorsed Donald Trump on eve of election. (“The Joe Rogan Experience”)

And leaving no room for doubt, Rogan wrote: “For the record, yes, that’s an endorsement of Trump.” 

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Trump in Pittsburgh

Donald Trump gained several last-minute endorsements from some big names. (Getty Images)

Earlier Monday, Robert Clemente Jr., son of the Puerto Rican baseball legend, formally endorsed Trump in the city where his father played. 

Clemente Jr. joined Trump on stage in Pittsburgh where he praised the former commander-in-chief. 

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Roberto Clemente Jr. and Donald Trump at a rally

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump, left, greets Roberto Clemente Jr., right, at a campaign rally at PPG Paints Arena, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)

“For the first time, I had to take a step forward. It is very important for me to support this man, because I believe tomorrow is a change of time,” Clemente Jr. said. “My father, the name Clemente, what it means is goodwill and unity. I believe that your team is going to bring it all home. I believe in everything that you stand for right now,” he told Trump.

And earlier Monday, Randi Mahomes, the mother of star Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, endorsed Trump during a game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. 

Randi Mahomes in MAGA hat

Randi Mahomes, the mother of Chiefs star Patrick Mahomes, wears MAGA hat at game. (OutKick)

In an exclusive video to OutKick, Randi Mahomes, wearing a red “Make America Great Again” hat with a Chiefs sweatshirt revealed her endorsement of Trump. 

“Make America great again. Let’s do it. Woo!” Randi Mahomes said. 

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Additionally, Trump was joined on stage in Pittsburgh earlier Monday by podcast host Megyn Kelly, who touted the former president as a “protector of women.”

Fox News Digital’s Scott Thompson contributed to this report. 

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Oprah, Lady Gaga bring back the joy in Kamala Harris' final rally

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Oprah, Lady Gaga bring back the joy in Kamala Harris' final rally

Vice President Kamala Harris held her final rally of the campaign Monday night, 106 days after President Biden dropped out, with a heavy dose of celebrity, trying to bring back the joy that characterized her early weeks on the trail.

At a Philadelphia rally outside the Philadelphia Museum of Art, by the steps where Rocky Balboa ran in the “Rocky” movie franchise, she implored a raucous crowd to make a plan to vote.

“One more day, just one more day in the most consequential election of our lifetime,” she said. “And momentum is on our side.”

The rally was intended as a show of force — bringing celebrity firepower to the biggest city in the most important swing state that was also the birthplace of American democracy. It featured Fat Joe, Lady Gaga, Ricky Martin, the Roots, will.i.am and Oprah Winfrey.

The event was part of a simulcast that stretched more than four hours across multiple cities, including Las Vegas and Phoenix. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz addressed a crowd in Milwaukee. Sugarland performed in Raleigh. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer spoke from Detroit, where Jon Bon Jovi also performed.

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“You don’t know who you voting for?” said Fat Joe, who introduced a musical number by fellow Puerto Rican Ricky Martin in a Philadelphia speech that criticized former President Trump for having a comedian who insulted Puerto Ricans during his rally last week. “You gotta be kidding me at this point.”

Lady Gaga performed a soulful version of “God Bless America” and spoke about empowering women, revving up the crowd. Winfrey brought 10 first-time voters on stage and asked several why they cast their votes.

“We are voting for healing over hate,” Winfrey said.

The mood was celebratory but Democrats are tense. Polls show a toss-up race with Pennsylvania, the biggest of the seven battleground states, nearly even as well.

“Everyone’s a little bit high-strung, which is understandable,” said Sara Grimaldi, 22, who has been working on youth voter engagement for a feminist group throughout the campaign.

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She came to do some last-minute outreach and to release some of that anxiety with Lady Gaga, she said. “Screaming, when you’re stressed out, helps.”

Democrats are hoping their ground game, two years in the making, will push Harris over the top. The campaign said about 110,000 volunteers have worked in the state since Harris took over atop the ticket from Biden three months ago, and were on track to knock on 5 million doors.

Tal Tigay, a 43-year-old real estate developer, came with her 12-year-old daughter, Nina, and their friend Ella, also 12. Tigay had taken Nina to a Hillary Clinton rally eight years ago to see the first female presidential candidate.

“Unfortunately, we didn’t win that one, but it was important for my daughter to be here in this moment,” Tigay said.

Violet Perloff, a first-year student at George Washington University in Washington, rescheduled a test and came home on the train so she could celebrate voting for the first time. She brought a bejeweled “Harris” sign that she made in her dorm room.

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“I had the opportunity to show my support,” she said. “So I was like, I want to do it. I want to come out and show that I care about my rights and I care about the future of this country.”

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Russia remains 'active threat' in influencing 2024 election, likely to focus on swing states: U.S. officials

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Russia remains 'active threat' in influencing 2024 election, likely to focus on swing states: U.S. officials

American intelligence officials released a recent statement warning about Russian actors conducting “additional influence operations” to impact the upcoming election on Tuesday.

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) published the latest update on its website on Monday evening. Speaking on behalf of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the ODNI detailed the latest intelligence findings.

Last week, officials said that they observed Russian actors creating and disseminating a fake video that showed individuals voting illegally, and a video accusing a politician of taking a bribe. Since then, the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC) has observed Russia and other foreign adversaries “conducting additional influence operations intended to undermine public confidence in the integrity of U.S. elections and stoke divisions among Americans.”

“The IC expects these activities will intensify through election day and in the coming weeks, and that foreign influence narratives will focus on swing states,” the statement read.

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Florida residents wait in line at an early polling precinct to cast their ballots in local, state, and national elections, in Clearwater, Florida, U.S., November 3, 2024.  (REUTERS/Octavio Jones)

Of all the foreign adversaries seeking to impact the election, the ODNI said that Russia “is the most active threat.”

“Influence actors linked to Russia in particular are manufacturing videos and creating fake articles to undermine the legitimacy of the election, instill fear in voters regarding the election process, and suggest Americans are using violence against each other due to political preferences, judging from information available to the IC,” the ODNI continued. “These efforts risk inciting violence, including against election officials.”

“We anticipate Russian actors will release additional manufactured content with these themes through election day and in the days and weeks after polls close.”

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Poll worker and voters in Massachusetts

A poll worker, center, works at a table as voters prepare to cast their ballots during early voting in the general election, Friday, Nov. 1, 2024, in Fall River, Mass. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

In recent days, Russian actors created an article reporting about false plans for swing state officials to orchestrate election fraud, and also made a recent video that “falsely depicted an interview with an individual claiming election fraud in Arizona.

Officials also believe that Iranian actors may be meddling with the election and disseminating false information, as they have done in the past. The meddlers may intend “to create fake media content intended to suppress voting or stoke violence, as they have done in past election cycles,” the ODNI noted.

The FBI encourages anyone who observes suspicious or criminal activity to call 1-800-CALL-FBI. Cyber incidents impacting election infrastructure can be reported to the CISA through the number 1-844-SAY-CISA.

The report came less than 24 hours before polls are set to open on Nov. 5, in what is expected to be a toss-up election between Vice President Harris and former President Trump. Swing states across the country have been on the lookout for fake ballots.

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Trump and Harris in North Carolina

Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris were neck-and-neck in polls on the eve of Nov. 5. (AP/Evan Vucci/Jacquelyn Martin)

On Monday, the chair of a Pennsylvania county election board announced that he had found 2,500 suspicious registration and mail-in ballot applications. At least 17% of the applications were fraudulent.

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