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Members of the Maine state legislature are moving to introduce legislation that will weaken child labor laws. The proposed changes include allowing workers under the age of 20 to be paid $2.25 cents less than the hourly minimum wage for their first 180 hours of employment. Also proposed is an increase in the number of hours minors are allowed to work. The move is being called an assault on hard-won basic labor protections for youth and young adults. As state governments continue chipping away at the labor rights of state employees, unionized workers in the private sector are also fighting for contracts that preserve basic rights. In Southern California, United Food and Commercial Workers union Local 770, and 6 other locals, have called for a strike authorization vote tomorrow. Group contract negotiations with three major grocery companies – Safeway, Kroger, and SuperValu, the parent companies of Vons, Ralphs, and Albertsons – have reached an impasse. Union negotiators say after weeks of effort they have not received wage proposals, and workers are being asked to take unreasonable reductions in pension benefits and health care coverage. Local 770 represents 35,000 employees in Southern California, making it the largest UFCW local in the area and possibly in the nation. Meanwhile, the three grocery chains together announced $4,5 billion in annual operating profits recently, paying out more than half a billion dollars to their investors.

GUESTS: John Grant, Secretary/Treasurer of UFCW Local 770, Maribel Garcia, cashier at a Ralph’s Market in Van Nuys, UFCW member–

Stay updated on the strike vote at www.ufcw770.org