No Strike for Grocery Workers; Tentative Agreement Reached

Leaders of unions and the "Big Three" grocery chains have reached an agreement—leaving 62,000 workers on the job.

The success of the talks, , was announced at about 11:30 a.m. Monday.

"We have reached an agreement to protect our health care, more details to come," stated a message sent to Ralphs employees shortly after the announcement was made.

In a press release, the United Food and Commercial Workers, the union which represents the workers, said a tentative contract agreement was made, putting an end to the negotiations that began in February.

“Thanks to the unity of our members, we were successful in bargaining an agreement that grocery workers can be proud of,” the union negotiators said in a statement, noting that "protections" to health care benefits were made. “We have attained our most important goal, which was continuing to provide comprehensive health care to the members and their families."

The workers will be asked to ratify the agreement, which includes "more money for you over the life of the contract, high-quality affordable health care and a stable pension fund," according to a bulletin to union workers. Specifics on the deal will be released to the workers preceding ratification votes.

The negotiations, which began in February, left employees without a renewed contract after it expired on March 6.

Negotiators for Albertsons, Ralphs and Vons, also acknowledged their contentment with the settlement agreement reached Monday.

“We are pleased to have reached a tentative settlement agreement with the union that continues to preserve good wages, secure pensions and access to quality, affordable health care – while allowing us to be competitive in the marketplace," the chains said in a joint statement. "We appreciate the hard work, support and patience that everyone has shown during the past seven months, and particularly the past few weeks."

Maggie Avants contributed to this report.