ST. LOUIS - A union representing supermarket workers has filed unfair labor practice charges against the St. Louis area's three largest chain grocers, alleging the stores are offering to pay temporary workers unfairly higher wages in anticipation of a strike early next week.
The United Food and Commerical Workers Union Local 655 announced Friday they had filed the charges with the National Labor Relations Board regional office in St. Louis. The NLRB confirmed Friday that charges had been filed a day earlier against Schnuck Markets Inc., Dierbergs Markets Inc. and Shop 'n Save Warehouse Foods Inc.
The three stores placed full-page ads in the Thursday and Friday editions of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch seeking full-time temporary workers for $12.50 an hour and part-time workers for $10 an hour. The stores began hiring temporary workers weeks ago by word of mouth, said Schnucks spokeswoman Lori Willis.
Local 655 filed the charges because it claims temporary workers' wages would be higher than regular employees in the same positions.
Local 655 president Bob Kelley said it would take a clerk almost five years to reach an hourly wage of $12.50. Kelley also said regular part-time clerks would earn $7 an hour - $3 less than the temporary hires.
Mike Kaemmerer, spokesman for The Greater St. Louis Food Employers Council, said leadership of the council's three member stores are "confident they are within their rights."
"Our goal in setting these rates was to hire enough workers to continue serving our customers in the unfortunate event of a strike, perhaps a lengthy strike," Kaemmerer said. "While the unemployment rate remains extremely high, displaced workers in our community currently looking for work must be adequately compensated in order to suspend permanent job searches and come work for us."
Members of Local 655 will vote Tuesday whether to strike at one or more of the three chains. A contract proposal, which the stores have called their "final offer," was voted down by union members Tuesday. About 5,600 of the 10,200 Local 655 members voted on the proposal, with 64 percent opposed. To authorize a strike, two-thirds of those in attendance Tuesday must vote in support of picketing.
Ralph Tremain, director of the National Labor Relations Board Region 14 office in St. Louis, said investigators would have to look into the allegations. If an infraction is found, one of many possible punishments would be ordering the stores to pay temporary workers at a rate equal to that of regular workers, Tremain said.
If no infractions are found, the charges would be dismissed, he said.
Tremain said the NLRB generally attempts to complete investigations within seven weeks of when charges are filed.
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