CU With In-Store Branches‘Neutral’ As Clerks Strike

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - (10/27/03) Credit unions in this market withbranches inside grocery stores are discovering one of the realitiesof such retail facilities–they are sometimes forced to dealwith labor issues that don’t relate to them. Wescom CreditUnion, which has four branches in Albertsons grocery stores in thegreater-Los Angeles area, is keeping those branches open eventhough employees at the stores have gone on strike and members mustcross pickets to conduct business. The CU emphasized it is notaligned with either side in the dispute, stating that it is"politically neutral." Approximately 70,000 members of the UnitedFood and Commercial Workers union in Southern California have beenon strike or locked out of three chains – Ralphs, Vons andAlbertsons – since Oct. 11. Of Wescom’s 25 branches,four are in Albertsons stores. "Wescom Credit Union is notassociated with Albertsons or the union; we are tenants ofAlbertsons," the credit union said. "We are politically neutral onthe issue."