| SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS DATE: Tuesday, April 14, 1992 Section: SECTION: Business Edition: Morning Final< Page: 1F Memo: RELATED STORY, PAGE 7; (box)Safeway loses $4.9 million. WAREHOUSE IN TRACY STARTS HIRING NON-SAFEWAY WORKERS By MICHELLE LEVANDER, Mercury News Staff Writer All deals were off Monday in the dispute between Bay Area Teamsters and Northern California Safeway stores -- as the independent management of Safeway's new warehouse said it was through talking with the union and the Teamsters vowed to force the company back to the bargaining table with a consumer boycott. Specialized Distribution Management Inc., manager of the warehouse in Tracy, said it began hiring outside workers Monday from more than 25,000 job applicants. With the warehouse scheduled to open in three weeks, management said it has no time to bargain. "They knew from Day One that yesterday was the absolute last day to get this done," said Brenda Crum, co-owner of Specialized. "It's real unfortunate that this has happened." Five Bay Area Teamster locals rejected a management offer Sunday in a dispute over transfer rights for about 700 to 750 warehouse workers and drivers. The union said Monday its consumer boycott will force Safeway and Specialized to reopen negotiations. And one Teamsters Dairy Workers local could go out on strike over this and other contract issues after giving 72-hour strike notice last week. ''I can't believe (Specialized) will put their fledgling, untested operation in gear in a hostile environment of (protesting) workers and consumers," said union spokesman Paul Shinoff. The workers' job security was jeopardized when Safeway decided to close two outdated facilities in Richmond and Fremont and open the Tracy warehouse. Specialized offered to hire all the Safeway workers, but union members balked at accepting a wage and benefit package they contended was inferior. Infobox root -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- All content © SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS and may not be republished without permission. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- All |