Smart & Final workers affiliated with the Teamsters are striking at warehouses in Riverside and Commerce to protect their jobs from being terminated. They are in their sixth day of picketing.
600 workers at the two warehouses voted to join the Teamsters union in May.
But Chedraui USA – the company who owns Smart & Final – announced plans to close down the facilities.
According to a Teamsters spokesperson, the company plans to fire the workers and require them to re-apply for jobs at a new warehouse in Rancho Cucamonga.
That facility is scheduled to open early next year.
Workers on the picket line say they will strike until they secure a new union contract.
Daniel Delgado has worked at the Smart & Final Riverside warehouse for 19 years.
He says Chedraui simply doesn’t care about working class families.
"This is the thanks we get for being dedicated professionals by being retaliated upon by this company…Because they don’t like us to exercise our rights."
Chedraui did not respond to a request for comment.
