Oh Ralphs, How Could Ya?

I remember during the grocery workers strike in Southern California two years ago there was talk about Ralphs and, perhaps other, supermarkets secretly "rehiring" striking/locked out workers under less than kosher circumstances.

Well, a federal grand jury evidently found enough evidence to bring a 53-count criminal indictment against the company.

LA Times:

Ralphs used fake names and Social Security numbers and falsified thousands of employee records sent to various government agencies to conceal the rehiring effort, the 53-count indictment alleged.

If convicted on all counts, Ralphs and its parent company, Kroger Co., could face fines totaling more than $100 million, as well as back pay and restitution for Ralphs workers and their union, the United Food and Commercial Workers, prosecutors said.

Ralphs orchestrated the rehiring to better weather the strike and lockout that pitted Ralphs and two other major chains against the UFCW for more than four months, the 106-page indictment alleged. The violations reflected "tacit approval, if not encouragement, by Ralphs' senior management," the indictment alleged.

the rest...

I have no sympathy for Ralphs and the other supermarkets. Didn't have much before the strike and certainly not during. I, and undoubtedly hundreds of thousands of SoCal residents, changed our shopping habits during the strike/lock out -- finding that other stores like Trader Joe's satisfied more of our shopping needs -- and haven't changed back. (Ask me another time how I feel about the workers.)


My cat, Ralph, 1982-2002