that extended 2003-2004 labor dispute
San Diego, Calif. (Sept. 19, 2008) — Today’s federal indictments of eight current and former officials of Ralphs Grocery Co. and its parent company are a sign that “justice will prevail in an case of corporate greed gone amok” UFCW Local 135 President Mickey Kasparian said. The indictments seek to punish the individuals for unlawful conduct during the 2003-2004 Southern California supermarket strike and lockout.
The United States Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles announced that a current vice president of Kroger Co., Ralphs’ parent company, as well as a former Ralphs vice president, two former Ralphs zone managers and a former Ralphs district manager, will face charges for their roles in a scheme to rehire locked-out employees using false names and Social Security numbers. In addition, a current district manager and two former Ralphs store directors are charged with making false statements to investigators.
The eight individuals face a total of 23 counts. If they are found guilty on all charges, some of them could face sentences of at least 30 years in federal prison, as well as payment of restitution to victims of the alleged crimes.
In a 2006 plea agreement, Ralphs admitted to five corporate felonies in a conspiracy to secretly employ hundreds of locked-out workers after UFCW unions suddenly pulled pickets from the company’s stores on Oct. 31, 2003.
The epic 20-week labor dispute affected about 56,000 UFCW members in Southern California, including striking Vons workers and locked-out employees of Ralphs and Albertsons.
“Ralphs’ criminal behavior extended the labor dispute, enabling it to avoid reaching an agreement with our union and causing needless suffering to our members,” Kasparian said. “We are pleased that individuals who put our members through five months of pain are receiving the appropriate consequences.”
The crimes were uncovered during the labor dispute by UFCW Local 135, which contacted law-enforcement authorities.
As part of its plea agreement, Ralphs was ordered by U.S. District Court Judge Percy Anderson to pay $50 million to union members who were unfairly locked out of their stores. Approximately 15,250 current and former Ralphs employees received restitution checks. Anderson also ordered Ralphs to pay $20 million in fines to the federal government and to submit to three years of probation.
