Grocery Unions Jittery Ahead of New Contract Talks with Giant and Safeway

http://chevychase.patch.com/articles/grocery-unions-jittery-ahead-of-new-contract-talks-with-giant-and-safeway

United Food & Commercial Workers union calls for an early start to contract negotiations, but grocery chains won’t agree.

* By Bruce Vail
* Email the author
* November 14, 2011

Negotiations for a new labor contract to cover thousands of grocery workers in Maryland have not even begun, but there are signs it will be a painful and perhaps disruptive process.

Tom McNutt, president of Landover-based United Food & Commercial Workers Local 400, said the union is gearing up for a struggle with two of the biggest grocery chains in the area—Giant Foods and Safeway.

The union has begun mobilizing shop stewards and union members at more than a 100 grocery stores in Maryland, Washington, DC, and northern Virginia, McNutt said. An educational campaign among members and the general public is in full swing, he added.

More directly, the union has requested an early start of negotiations to replace the current contract, which expires at the end of March 2012. But, spokesmen for both Landover-based Giant and California-based Safeway said the companies have not agreed to any early talks.


FULL story at link.

She works for Giant.

About a month ago she told me that Giant wants to eliminate pensions. She's worked there for 25 years and is afraid they're going to screw her out of the pension she's earned.

Pensions are deferred compensation, aren't they? This means the money has already been earned.

So by what legal chicanery can they take pensions away?