By Doug Cunningham

More than 400,000 grocery workers represented by the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) are bargaining for new contracts this year. The UFCW’s Amber Sparks says big supermarket chains are not treating workers with respect as they try to negotiate decent wage and health care benefits in the new contracts.

[Sparks]: “They are not providing affordable health care, not providing a living wage for workers.”

Talks resumed this week between UFCW and three grocery chains in southern California. Sparks says the union is using a national strategy in an effort to have grocery workers rise up together.

[Sparks]: “The strategy has been, for the first time really, that workers are bargaining nationally. And what that means is that they are all realizing that they have this power when they all speak together that is stronger than the companies' power, even these national companies."

In several cities this week the UFCW held solidarity actions as part of its national unity bargaining campaign.