WASHINGTON - February 27 - The union movement congratulates the working men and women who walked the picket lines in the Southern California grocery strike and lock-out. They are heroes in the battle to solve our nation’s massive health care crisis.

The Southern California grocery workers took a courageous stand - - and they were able to save affordable health care and maintain pension benefits for tens of thousands of grocery workers and their families. These UFCW members held the line against the employer’s extreme give-back demands. That’s no small feat in an America where no-benefit McJobs and Walmarts are quickly driving down working families’ quality of life.

Working families ultimately can’t be expected to put their livelihoods on the line to hold back corporations who are determined to shift rising health care costs onto workers and taxpayers. The crisis will not be solved on the backs of workers and it will not be solved company by company; the ultimate solution to this growing crisis must be national and legislative.

The entire labor movement stood behind these workers in city after city in an overwhelming show of nationwide solidarity across unions. I would like to personally thank all union members and community supporters who participated in this struggle and helped these workers hold the line against corporations’ determination to shift rising health care costs onto workers. Clearly, America’s corporations will think twice about taking on the union movement on health care after seeing the losses suffered by Safeway and the other grocery employers.

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