Wal-Mart, Driving Workers and Supermarkets Crazy

NYTIMES ^ | 10-19-03 | STEVEN GREENHOUSE

[BobS]

Jons is a local CA-based supermarket chain that gets their produce shipped into the L.A. area direct from farms in Ventura County and the meat from the Central Valley. They don't go through the huge warehouses downtown like unions go through. They hire a few professional meat-cutters and produce workers to run their stores, while providing the regular folks with more money than a union can provide. Those folks are usually someone's wife or kid, working part-time. They seem happy. Costumers are happy with paying 20% less than in union supermarkets. So everyone does well.

[BobS]

The total percentage of profit a company like Vons made to value of holdings was 1% and if it is true that Wal Mart is slashing sales cost to the buyer by 14%, kiss the union, Vons, Ralphs, Albertsons and Stater Bros. bye bye.

I'm going shopping at Jons early tomorrow morning. They have the biggest T-Bones I've ever seen. And they do the meat cutting right there and wrap them in paper for you too. And I'll pick up some Melanesa steak for lunchmeat too! The regular stuff like canned goods are cheaper too. And their produce must be 50% less than Ralphs or Vons without the union overhead.

[BobS]

I've lived in NJ a long time ago and went to Shop-Rite. I don't know what's going on now.

[A CA Guy]

Sure, I am no fan of Unions.

My family had one dark branch of the family tree from Sicily going back to the 1909s or so in New York and they are the "real" Sopranos. Though I don't want or have had any contact with them since a child, they are still VERY active and all owning/running different branches of a famous Union that sounds "just" like Teamsters. Whoops!