Bill Bittner

Grocers Face Antitrust Suit in California

August 18, 2010

FROM RETAILWIRE:
Albertsons, Ralphs and Vons must face an antitrust lawsuit over a pact the three competitors signed in 2003 to share profits if any one of the three were singled out by the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) union for a strike in California, according to Bloomberg News. Do you think the companies engaged in anticompetitive behavior?      [more...]

The labor versus management pendulum is constantly swinging from one side to the other. Rarely do we see it settle in the middle, where both sides feel they are receiving their fair share of the profits. I believe the pendulum had swung too far in favor of labor for a long period from the late seventies to the early 00's. Many good companies found themselves burdened by contract agreements that could no longer be supported in a more competitive environment. Rather than concede the facts, labor groups pushed the envelope and jobs were lost when companies were forced into bankruptcy.

At the time the corporations were allowed to make the pact regarding profits, I think it made sense. Now, we are facing a completely different economic environment and labor needs more protection. But along with this protection, labor carries the responsibility to act appropriately in an economy where overcapacity (or lack of demand) is the dominant factor. Both labor and management must understand that to get the business of the shoppers who are spending they must be better than their competitors. This means concessions by both sides.