.... about the strikers...........

The three primary grocery stores around here have had workers on strike for weeks now. The stores are Albertson's, Ralph's, and Von's. Both Ralph's and Von's have become my stores of choice since moving here mainly based on availability. In general, Ralph's has been better with prices, but they each have their thing that I go for.

When they first went on strike, I stayed away. I don't know why - maybe slightly out of fear - contrary to popular belief, I prefer avoiding confrontation. I don't really believe unions are necessary though, so I had a battle with it. Anyway, I purposely crossed the picket line a few times just to make my statement really. That was after one of the picketers was arrested for chasing down a shopper and beating him to a pulp. I don't know the whole story; I'm guessing that at that hour, about 2 or 3am, one or both of them were probably drunk - not that it's an excuse - I just mean the fight probably had more to do with the two individuals than it did the actual strike situation.

moving on........... Just this past weekend with the fires going on and people displaced, I guess the grocery "gods" decided they should make it easier for people to buy groceries, so they "gave us permision to shop at Ralph's" and pulled the picketers off those lines. They said that the Ralph's people have been the most cooperative during negotiations.

I haven't been there yet, but really I don't care about whether the strikers are there or not - I just go to the store that has the best prices for the items I want.