foodworkers

A federal jury found three former Ralphs managers not guilty yesterday in a case arising from the 2003 Southern California grocery strike. It is extremely rare for managers to be prosecuted for actions taken during a labor dispute. Here is some background on this case and conjecture on the jury’s reasons for acquittal.

For many years, the major grocery chains in Southern California (Vons, Albertsons and Ralphs) had an agreement that if a union called a “whipsaw” strike against one of the chains, the others would lockout their employees. In 2003, the UFCW called a strike at Vons. Ralphs and Albertsons locked out their employees, and they didn’t return to work until nearly four months later.

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