Stater Bros. Markets did something in recent days that it’s never done in its 89-year history: it laid off store clerks.
The San Bernardino supermarket chain’s chief executive blamed inflation and tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump for cutting 63 “courtesy clerks” at several Southern California stores.
The clerks learned of their layoffs in a video shown to them Feb. 17, six days ahead of their last day. The 10-minute video, viewed by the Southern California News Group, featured CEO Peter Van Helden, who discussed “reducing costs” at the 171-store chain, ranging from cutting labor and electricity costs with solar-powered panels to “all kinds of things.”
In the video, Van Helden blamed the layoffs on significant inflation, “more than I’ve ever seen in my career,” with retail prices jumping 30% from levels seen four years ago. “I’m pretty certain that in the future we’re going to have to continue to reduce the number of jobs in this company. It’s a fact.”
Watch the video: Stater Bros. Markets CEO blames inflation for layoffs
More than 100 members of the United Food and Commercial Workers picketed Wednesday, March 5 at the Stater store in Costa Mesa where courtesy clerks were laid off, urging the company to rehire them at other stores with job openings. Clerks also were laid off at three other stores, but the UFCW didn’t picket them.
Also see: Southern California’s 3.4% inflation rate is 7-month high
Three-year UFCW labor contracts with several supermarket chains ended March 2. Local 324 said that talks with Stater Bros. began Thursday, with negotiations poised to begin at the other chains this month.
The supermarkets, which employ more than 50,000 workers represented by the union, include Stater Bros.; Boise, Idaho-based Albertsons Cos., which also owns Vons and Pavilions; Ralphs, the largest supermarket unit of Cincinnati-based Kroger Co.; Encino-based Gelson’s Markets; and Super A Foods, a family-owned supermarket chain based in Commerce that caters to Latino and Asian shoppers in the Los Angeles area.
The courtesy clerks, who are paid about $16.50 an hour, bag groceries, help load purchases into the cars for shoppers and keep check-stands clean.
In Orange County, clerks were fired at Stater stores at 1175 Baker St. in Costa Mesa and 3325 E. Chapman Ave. in Orange, according to Jenna Thompson, a spokeswoman with the UFCW Local 324. In the Inland Empire, clerks were fired at 22201 Barton Road in Grand Terrace and 3460 Ontario Ranch Road in Ontario.
Related: ‘Normal’ California egg prices months away, analyst says
Charlotte Wall, a Stater spokeswoman, echoed Van Helden’s video statements, saying the layoffs were due to rising inflation and represent “a cost reduction that will allow us to hold the line on pricing for our customers.”
In the employee video provided to SCNG by the union, Van Helden said: “It’s impactful to everybody when they hear the word layoff, especially because in this company, we’ve never done this before. We’ve never had a layoff. It’s unique and different.”
According to Van Helden, inflation softened last summer when prices at its stores rose just 1.5%. He noted prices have shot higher over the last four months by 4%-4.5%.
“With the announcements of new tariffs and probably more tariffs to come, it’s quite likely that inflation is going to take off even above the four and a half percent we’re seeing now. I’m very worried about that,” Van Helden said. “Twelve months ago, the cost of our dozen eggs was $5.19. Today, that same dozen eggs are $9.02. It’s gone up nearly $4 in one year.”
“The enemy for Stater Brothers, the enemy for you, I think, is the non-union competition,” said Van Helden of rival chains such as Aldi, Dollar Stores, Sprouts, Target and Walmart. “That’s who we’re really fighting against.”
On Wednesday, some of the terminated courtesy clerks showed up to picket in front of the Staters in Costa Mesa where they were laid off.
“We watched the video from the CEO. He talked about inflation, utilities and egg prices doubling. I was trying to control my emotions. It sounded like fluff,” said Hannah Che, an 18-year-old senior at Fountain Valley High School who began working at the store a year ago. “I was a little confused because I learned in my government class that inflation was going down slightly.”
Zoe Shea, a 23-year-old clerk who got laid off from the store, said she’s worried about paying for her textbooks as an English major at Santiago Canyon College in Orange. “I worked weekends to pay for school and gas to drive to school and work.”
Police officers from the Costa Mesa police department showed up briefly after receiving a call about the protest, where bullhorns were used to scream slogans in support of the courtesy clerks. “We won’t back down,” one protester yelled.
Albertsons, Gelson’s and Super A Foods did not respond to requests for comment on the start of bargaining with their chains.
Aubriana Martindale, a spokeswoman with Ralphs, said both parties have committed to bargaining sessions through March 27 to reach an agreement. “Our goal is to provide market competitive wages for our dedicated associates, while keeping groceries affordable for the communities we serve,” Martindale said.
“We know Stater is a different company today than it was under Jack Brown,” said Andrea Zinder, UFCW Local 324 president, on Stater’s long-time president and CEO who died in November 2016. “They’re putting profits over people and calling us a team instead of a family,” Zinder said.
Brown, a native of San Bernardino, joined Stater Bros. in 1981 and served as the top executive for 36 years. He became executive chairman after appointing Van Helden as president and CEO in early 2016.
“We’ve never had a layoff in 36 years,” Brown told the Orange County Register in January 2016.
Even during the 2003-2004 grocery strike and lockout, Brown kept the stores open and accepted whatever agreement the union made with the other major supermarket chains in California. “It was doing the right thing for right reasons. The right thing was to continue to serve our customers and to keep our people employed,” he said at the time.
