Well, it's kind of travel related...if anyone is visiting L.A. and wants to buy food without crossing picket lines, it'd be good to know what stores to ask directions for at the concierge...

Thank you, Joesorce, for a great thread. I have great food sources to suggest here. The supermarket companies want to hire new workers at below union starting wages, so how much job security will the current employees have? Also, don't forget that many of them are not being given a 40 hour week now. These workers were encouraged to be loyal to a store for the good benefits. At 2/3 of the stores, the employees have been locked out. Great stores in LA area -- (love Gelsons and Trader Joes) and also Whole Foods (several branches listed at www.wholefoods.com) and Wild Oats - awesome store with lots of great healthy food and huge deli dept.(www.wildoats.com) Bristol Farms is a fantastic store and at bristolfarms.com you can order online and have it delivered for $4.99. There are terrific ma and pa grocery stores in most neighborhoods too. And if resources are low and families large, then Costco offers free samples and big discounts. I followed the news and stocked up the freezer before the strike/lockout and now I'm enjoying the better stores. Once you see what you can get at a Whole Foods or Bristol Farms or Wild Oats you won't want to shop at an ordinary store. And don't forget farmer's markets!! The produce at these outdoor markets is fresher and cheaper. Ethnic grocery stores and Jewish and Italian delis. Eat out or discover delivery on any budget.
http://www.at-la.com/biz/@la-food.htm for a link to farmer's markets and delis etc. and also:
http://www.farmernet.com/
Don't forget drug stores and online shopping. And have a heart. I don't know them personally, but I believe they are good people putting themselves on the line.

Travelbug5
Thanks for that informative post. I wonder how far the stores you mentioned will drive to deliver.

The checkers at Trader Joes are non union and they are some of the nicest in the biz. They all seem happy. Sounds like TJ's may be setting a standard. Nice website too.

Trader Joe's is well-known for paying its workers a fare wage, plus benefits. Union or no union, do the right thing.

clarkgriswald. Noticed from other posts that you are a true authority on this topic. In your honor, I will continue to avoid the supermarket Big Boys.

According to today's LA Times, Wal-Mart is about to flood the Southern California market with SuperCenters (a combined retail store and super market). Vons, Albertsons, Ralphs and all the others will have to increase service and lower prices just to survive against this behemoth. There are very few mom and pop style groceries remaining in the South these days....

WalMart must be what hell looks like

Kudos to the City of Oakland for banning Wal-Mart Superstores within their city limits. Here's to hoping other California municipalities follow suit.

I'm shopping at Gelsons, Trader Joe's and Whole Foods, depending on what I need.

I miss the convenience of popping in to Ralph's, but I think that what these stores are doing to their workers is indefensible. How they can expect someone to survive on $8/hour in LA Country is unbelievable! The cost of living is very high here and these people deserve a living wage. And placing at least part of the blame for this on Wal-Mart is very fair. We should all be boycotting Wal-Mart, too!!

If you're visiting CA soon, I highly urge you not to break the picket lines.

Is that $8 before or after taxes? For heavens sake a basic car wash in San Diego is $10. How can these people make ends meet? I have noticed a lot of government subsidized housing going up. Very nice places/brand new I might add. So would it be correct to assume that since Ralphs et al want to keep labour cheap then the gov. has to pick up the slack? Aren't we paying either way?

Here's a good example: Take the forest rangers out of the towers because the state can't afford to pay them.

Now who's gonna pay for the 1100 homes up in flames.....you and me Calamari.

Trader Joes, Wholefoods, and if you live near Fairfax Avenue, there are great bakeries, delis and produces stores.

Clark. Are you serious? Let's see... Forest Rangers vs. supermarket checkers. Hmmmm. Don't think the forests are privatley owned corporations.

People who don't make a lot of money wash their own cars.

I should say - or they don't have a car!

Oh please. The $8/hr employees are the teenage baggers who would otherwise be making min. wage flipping burgers. Don't believe the hype, suckers!

It's beyond me why some get so upset at people who want to make a living wage!? Not everyone can be a doctor, anyone who is willing to work hard deserve a decent wage? Try buying or even renting a home in southern cal. on $17 an hour, let alone $10.
AND BOYCOTT WALMART !!! They are the real enemy here!!!

Handi Market on Magnolia in Burbank
(produce and fresh meats)

Vicente Foods in Brentwood/Bel Air

Vallarta Markets in North Hollywood

Stater Brothers and Mayfair Markets

Jon's Markets

I will not shop at Ralphs, Albertsons etc. It's all about making money for their stockholders. From the mid 1980's to 2000 these grocery store stocks went up dramatically. That stopped in 2000 so that's what this is all about.

I shop at:

Trader Joes
Outdoor Farmer's Markets (all over the city)
Co-Op (on Broadway in Santa Monica)
Gelsons

Exactly. It used to be alright to run a clean business and make a decent profit. Now nobody's happy until they're number one with a bullet. The supermarkets put the local bakeries out of business, then the local fishmarket, then the mom 'n pop delis...but that's not enough.

Meanwhile WalMart's using illegal aliens who sleep 4 families in a house just to gnaw towards the "American Dream". Little do they know that after devoting 20 years of your worklife to a company, that company can turn its back on you in a second.