Rosalyn Hackworth

Secretary-Treasurer

Secretary -Treasurer's Message

Spreading the word about Fresh & Easy in San Diego

The scope of Local 135’s Fresh & Easy campaign continues to grow as we carry on our fight to protect union market share against non-union retailers.

In June, Local 135 volunteers Chris Lopez, Melissa Freitas and Jeff Boss set up shop at San Diego State University, where they spread the word about Fresh & Easy’s threat to wages, benefits and living standards of union workers.

The volunteers asked students, professors, faculty and visitors to pledge not to shop at Fresh & Easy stores as they pop up across the Southwest. Visitors to Local 135’s informational booth also signed a petition in support of the union campaign.

Making an impact

Because of our efforts, thousands of consumers are promising that they will stay away from Fresh & Easy until it reduces its environmental impact, provides good jobs to its communities and meets current standards of service in the grocery industry.

Since Tesco, the giant corporation that is called “the Wal-Mart of Britain,” opened its first Fresh & Easy stores last November, Local 135 activists have been getting the word out by circulating handbills and participating in rallies that draw the attention of local media.

Our campaign is having a significant effect. In late March, Tesco announced that it would temporarily suspend its expansion of the Fresh & Easy brand in the United States in order to reevaluate its strategies. The company denied that it was in trouble, but independent analysts reported that Fresh & Easy locations were earning as much as $100,000 less per week than predicted.

Protect your community

But the fight is far from over. We expect Fresh & Easy will start opening stores again after tinkering with its format and making cosmetic changes. It will be our task to convince Fresh & Easy that more fundamental changes will have to be made if the company wants to make it in this country.

Until Fresh & Easy gets the message, we’ll have more educational events like the one at San Diego State University. We will keep this issue in consumers’ minds and help concerned citizens take an active role in protecting their communities.

We need your help in this important cause. Please talk to your union representative or call Local 135 to learn how you can get involved in future events.