New Supermarket Faces Opposition Over Labor Practices

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Author: Berit Anderson

Supermarket chain Fresh & Easy recently celebrated the opening of its new store in Glassell Park, promising green business and social responsibility. Tesco, the British grocery store giant, is opening stores all across the Southwest, with 30 locations scheduled to pop up throughout Southern California, Arizona and Nevada over the next few months.

The chain has pledged to promote environmentally sustainable packing and retail practices, open stores in typically underserved and economically depressed areas and hire locally rather than outsourcing. A study conducted by Occidental’s Urban and Environmental Policy Institute (UEPI), however, argues the company may not be as committed or as community friendly as they sound. 

“They’re making these very strong promises and marketing claims and they need to be held accountable,” Director of UEPI Robert Gottlieb said. Gottlieb is the co-author of Shopping for a Market, the UEPI report on Fresh & Easy’s entry into the United States.

Tesco publicly committed to constructing Green Buildings to house Fresh & Easy store locations. According to their website, the buildings will use 30 percent less energy than the average grocery store with the use of energy efficient lighting, refrigeration cases and temperature regulation systems. Parking lots will include hybrid parking spaces and bike racks for customers and employees.

Still, Green Buildings won’t be constructed at store locations Tesco is leasing, such as the Glassell Park store, Gottlieb said. He claims the company has been less than forthcoming about the number of stores they actually own as opposed to those they are just renting.

Tesco also refused to engage with local supermarket unions. “All our store employees work 20 hours or more each week, and are offered affordable and comprehensive healthcare, with Fresh & Easy paying at least 75 percent of the cost,” CEO Bryan Pugh said in a press release. “Entry-level positions start at $10 an hour in California and include a quarterly bonus of up to 10 percent.”

 “Unionized grocery workers can earn more money than employees at Tesco,” UEPI Director of Communications Amanda Shaffer (’02) said. Shaffer co-authored Shopping for a Market with Gottlieb. “Even Trader Joes [un-unionized], which is not nearly the same size, pays more and is less predatory,” she said. According to a June 8 article in the Oakland Tribune, none of Trader Joe’s stores are unionized.

The report says Fresh & Easy’s reliance on part-time, rather than full-time workers, limits the ability of its employees to earn a living wage without being forced to juggle multiple jobs. According to Gottlieb, part time employees also have a higher turnover rate, which means that even if a worker is employed for the requisite 90 days to qualify for the program, Fresh & Easy will have to pay out fewer benefits in the long run than a supermarket that hires more full-time workers.

“They say they’re trying to hire students and moms who need to work part-time,” Gottlieb said. “But if you were going to interview the people that work there, they are not students and moms. They are workers of color,” he said.

Initially, the UEPI reported that 10 percent of Fresh & Easy stores would be located in “food deserts,” locations with high rates of poverty generally underserved by traditional grocery stores. Shaffer says that their entry into these communities, is, as of yet, just a promise.

“They’re still saying they’re going to build in those neighborhoods, but they’re going to open everywhere else first,” Shaffer said. “None of the liquor permits that they’ve applied for are in ‘food desert’ sites.”  

Fresh & Easy’s Neighborhood Affairs Manager Roberto Munoz refused to answer questions about Tesco or the Fresh & Easy chain when contacted.

UEP major Emily Lowell (junior) has been working on a campaign through her internship with Los Angeles for A New Alliance to convince Fresh & Easy to sign a Community Benefits Agreement. Twenty-five community organizations have coalesced to push for the agreement, which would hold Tesco responsible for many of the promises they’ve made in their marketing campaigns.

Lowell has been leafleting in front of the store and rallied the support of her fellow students in attending Fresh & Easy’s November 7 press conference. She also plans to organize an educational street fair run by Oxy students in January.

“Right now Tesco’s CEOs won’t even come to the table to talk with community organizations,” she said. “It’s going to be a long effort. I don’t foresee a short ending right now.”

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