Tensions are high in Las Vegas where over 140 warehouse workers at Smith's Food and Drug have voted to authorize a potential strike, as News 3 LV reported. These workers, who earlier this year chose to join Teamsters Local 14, are citing months of what they call unfair labor practices and a refusal from Kroger, Smith's parent company, to engage in serious bargaining as the grounds for this drastic measure. They have not set a deadline for when a strike might commence.
With the majority of the warehouse employees backing the strike authorization, Secretary-Treater of Teamsters Local 14 Jason Gateley stated, "Since joining the Teamsters in January, this determined group of warehouse workers have proven they are organized and refuse to back down while Kroger drags out negotiations." He went further to suggest that Kroger needs to make a "genuine offer and cleans up its illegal behavior," or the members would be left with no alternative but to strike, as recorded in a statement obtained by News 3 LV. These workers made their voices heard earlier by joining Local 14, aiming for better wages, job security, safer working conditions, and guaranteed retirement benefits.
This sentiment is echoed in statements from the workers themselves, with Teamster and Kroger/Smith’s warehouse worker Juan Castillo saying to the Teamster website, "All we want is a fair contract that brings us in line with the wages and benefits other Teamsters at Kroger already have nationwide." Castillo insists that a strike is not their first choice, but the protracted negotiations and violations of their rights may not leave them another viable path.
Adding to the support for these workers, the Teamsters have nationwide influence, representing thousands of workers at various Kroger locations. "Management must bring a real contract offer to the table, or they will face the consequences," said Tom Erickson, Director of the Teamsters Warehouse Division, which he articulated in the press statement that can be found on the Teamster website. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, founded in 1903, stands by ready to support their Las Vegas brothers and sisters in this labor dispute.
