ANSWER LA launches food drive for striking grocery workers
The kickoff rally for the food drive was Saturday at a Vons at Fairfax and Pico in L.A., a store with a large number of militant strikers in a mostly Black and Latino area.
It went great! Speeches by labor leaders, ministers, Global Women’s Strike, and a strong feeling of solidarity prevailed. These strikers aren’t asking for more, they simply want to hold on to what they already have, and health benefits are a major concern.
Hip hop artist Wil B. spoke of how his mother was a grocery worker in the 80’s when her store tried to take away their health benefits. She, one person working alone at first, started a union at that store, a union which still exists today. And she was listening via cell phone as Wil B. spoke!
ANSWER brought several dozen picket signs fashioned as a Wanted poster with Safeway CEO Steve Burd’s photo on it. These went fast, as the strikers loved them!
We also had a pickup truck filled with donated food, and plan to get much more food for the next rally.