By Doug Cunningham

The United Food and Commercial Workers is beginning talks on new contracts with grocery stores in California, including the Ralph’s chain. Ralph’s pled guilty last November to secretly hiring hundreds of locked-out employees using fake names and fraudulent social security numbers. The company was guilty of five felonies, fined $20 million and has set up a $50 million restitution fund for workers employed by Ralph’s during the lockout and strike in 2003 and 2004. As the UFCW meets with Ralph’s executives in Los Angeles a federal criminal probe of the company continues investigating individual Ralph’s executives. Due to this company’s criminal history the UFCW is very wary of Ralph’s. The company says it’s willing to work with the UFCW to reach an agreement that allows workers to have good careers and the company to have a future.