Employees of both the transit system (which includes our commuter trains, busses and the Metro {kind of an above-ground version of a subway} and three major grocery stores (Vons, Ralphs {aka Kroger} and Albertsons) went on strike over the weekend. Both went on strike over the increasing costs of health care to them, the employees (or their unions).

AlphaBravo wrote about the grocery-workers strike the other day. I don�t mean to pick on this diarist, but I have many issues with what she�s written. My main one is this: Yes, it is completely unfair that her mother makes only $8.50/hour and has to fork over money for her health benefits. However, that unfairness is not the grocery-worker union�s (I don�t know their official name) fault. She states that these grocery workers make $17.00/hour after two years of employment. I don�t know if that�s true, but I�m somewhat certain that she is at least in the ballpark. And...so what? Have you tried to raise a family on $17.00 an hour, especially when your healthcare benefits keep going up? That�s $680 a week, before taxes and things like medical care deductions. This is Southern California, of course. I dont' expect you people over there in Arkansas to relate at all, but believe me when I say that $680/week is NOTHING. We�re not talking about high school students working part time and making this amount of money. Where I shop, the cashiers are generally my age and with, I presume, families to raise.

Here�s the issue with the strikes, as I hear it: In both situations, the employers are asking the employees to pony up more cash for their healthcare (again. They already increased the employee contribution last year, in both cases), because of rising costs. In the case of the Transit Authority, the union covers the difference between what is paid by the employer and what is paid by the employee. Because healthcare costs have been going up for two years, the union�s fund is almost bankrupt.

What happened with the stores is that Vons employees went on strike on Saturday night, so the other stores locked everyone out as of Sunday and brought in replacements. The transit people went on strike this morning, just in time for Tuesday rush hour.

Now, I completely understand that insurance is very expensive. I am also not happy about the fact that these strikes will interfere with the lives of thousands who have nothing to do with the situation. However, my personal feeling is that health care is much more affordable for the Ralphs corporation than it is for their employees. And I KNOW, as high as the prices are at Vons (aka Pavillions, owned by Vons) and Albertsons, they can afford the healthcare costs more than their employees can.

Plus, I generally support labor unions. Therefore, I am crossing no picket line.

Not any more, that is. Sunday morning, having no idea they were already on strike, I went to Ralphs. And sadly, I know of no other stores in all of Long Beach other than Vons and Albertsons, both of which were out. As we pulled in to the parking lot, john and I even discussed going elsewhere but we didn�t know where else to go where we wouldn�t have to cross a picket line. There has to be some alternative, somewhere�I just haven�t found one (yet).

As a side note, it was kind of odd buying stuff from the replacement team. They did not know what they were doing at the cash registers and we were needlessly stuck in line for a while, as a result. Plus, the entire bakery/deli department was totally closed. Bummer. Hope I don�t need a deli tray in the near future.

Anyway, I know that Labor Unions are problematic. However, I am a firm believer that we, the worker, would be in a much deeper pile of poo without them. Again, I don�t want to pick on alphabravo, necessarily, but she makes the point that even grocery workers who work 28 hours/week can get insurance. OK, A) If the rules are the same as when I worked for a market, all benefits are decreased if you work part-time. These employers generally cover a much smaller portion of healthcare costs for part-time employees. B) This is actually great, in my book.

My nephew, CJ, works part-time for UPS. He is also a student. It is because of his union that he, too, has health insurance even though he only works part time. If it weren�t for that, he would have NO health insurance unless he wanted to extend the time it would take him to get through school because he had to work full-time.

What, exactly, is wrong with giving part time employees benefits?

Of course, I am only now finally getting around to my REAL point which is this: Vote for Dennis Kucinich. If we do, he will enact a plan wherein all of us will have health insurance. And it�s financially doable. See his webpage to find out how.

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