Employees at Santa Cruz Markets Fight Against Unfair Labor Practices, Vote to Strike
Alissa Orozco
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – Announced just before the busy holiday season, employees at Santa Cruz Markets in Goleta and Santa Barbara are standing up against unfair labor practices by threatening to go on strike.
Announced through their union, United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 770, employees at the West Montecito Street and the Hollister Avenue locations say the decision was made through a unanimous membership vote to protest Santa Cruz Market’s labor violations.
These violations include “coercion, surveillance, unilateral changes, and bad faith that have prevented essential grocery workers from getting the fair contract they deserve.”
Local 770 represents Santa Cruz Markets clerks and meat department workers in Goleta and Santa Barbara; their bargaining committee says workers will continue to fight for a fair contact that will both reward and protect their hard work.
“We’ve had enough of their union-busting tactics that undermine workers and silence our voices. And if they thought Santa Cruz Markets members could be scared away from standing up for our rights, they just found out that they are very wrong.”
“An Unfair Labor Practice strike is always a last resort, and we will continue to push Santa Cruz Markets to do the right thing and come back to the table to bargain in good faith.”
Both sides are heading back to the bargaining table tomorrow.
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