UPDATE: Grocery Strike Averted

Update, Monday, noon: After a negotiating marathon that ran all night and into this morning, both sides announced a tentative agreement that averts a strike. The pact still must be voted on by rank-and-file union members.

Update, Monday, 12:15 a.m.: A bulletin posted on the union website late Sunday said negotiations would continue past midnight. "Continue working until you hear from your union rep," it said.

Update, Sunday, 7:45 p.m.: Negotiations continued past Sunday's 7:10 p.m. deadline and supermarket workers remained on the job.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa urged both sides to work out a deal: "At a time of persistently high unemployment, poverty and foreclosures, the last thing we need is a devastating strike that will make it more difficult for thousands of workers to put food on the table for their families, pay their mortgages and afford other basic necessities,'' he said. "The ripple effect will further damage our local economy."

Original Story: Officially, negotiations to head off a supermarket strike are getting nowhere, but some observers spotted one encouraging sign Sunday.

Clerks at Ralphs and Vons supermarkets in Santa Monica said neither chain had reduced deliveries of fresh baked goods, produce, milk and meat to stores. The clerks, who didn't want their names publicized, theorized that fresh deliveries of perishables could mean management expects stores to stay open.

"We've heard that, and I think that does mean something,'' said union spokesman Mike Shimpock. "If [management officials] start to move in the negotiations, we intend to stay at the table'' and not call a strike, he said.

Otherwise, a walkout could begin anytime after 7:10 p.m. Sunday, the deadline set by union reps for 62,000 grocery store clerks in Southern California.

Health insurance benefits are a major sticking point, with Ralphs, Vons and Albertsons offering a package that union officials say would run out of money in 16 months. Under the most recent offer, workers would pay about $36 a month for individual health insurance, or $92 per month for family coverage. The company contribution has not been disclosed.

Negotiators are also reportedly far apart on pay rates.

"They're sitting on their piles of cash, and they're throwing us quarters,'' Shimpock told City News Service. The union claims the three chains made $3 billion in profits last year, and distributed $500 million to stockholders.

No grocery chain official would comment on the negotiations, but a union spokesman said no progress had been made as of Sunday afternoon.

All three chains continued to solicit replacement workers Sunday. Ralphs said it would initally close all its stores if a strike is called.

And Minnesota-based Albertsons clarified an earlier statement that it might close up to 100 stores. Spokeswoman Christie Ly told City News Service the actual number would depend on management's ability to ''spread our resources to maintain a high level of customer service." She added, "We intend for most of our stores to be open.''

Vons hasn't said whether it would keep stores open with replacement workers and management.

During a 141-day lockout in 2003-04, the chains lost an estimated $1.5 billion.

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly quoted union reps pegging supermarket profits at $1.5 billion last year. The estimate should have been $3 billion, City News Service now says.