Members urged to support ‘big box’ law

On Nov. 3 and Nov. 16, the San Diego City Council will hear testimony about an ordinance to regulate the growth of “big box” stores like Walmart Supercenters and Super Targets in San Diego.  President Mickey Kasparian urges all members of UFCW Local 135 to attend the meetings and express their support for the ordinance.

“We’ve been working for years to get this law passed,” Kasparian said. “It is crucial for the protection of small and neighborhood businesses in San Diego. It is also crucial for the protection of good union jobs.”

Kasparian said each of the City Council meetings will include a reading of the legislation, a hearing during which people on both sides of the issue may express their views, and then a vote on the ordinance.  “Walmart wants into our city and legislation like this is the only thing keeping it away,” Kasparian said. “The company will bring as many people as it can to say they want Supercenters in their neighborhoods. We need to make sure our opinion is heard as well.”  Ordinances like the one being considered in San Diego restrict the amount of floor space in large “big box” stores that may be dedicated to selling non-taxable items like groceries.

President Kasparian urged every San Diego union member to attend these city council meetings and speak with their union representatives about how to assist in keeping Walmart’s and other companies’ super stores out
of Southern California.  “This is an issue that affects your job,” he said. “In the upcoming negotiations, your employers will try to use non-union competition like Walmart as an excuse not to meet our needs for wages and benefits.

“Take that bargaining chip off the table and save your union jobs!”

Please attend!

Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2 p.m.
Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2 p.m.

City Council Chambers
202 C St.
Downtown San Diego