Short pause in supermarket labor talks

Negotiations between the major chains - Ralphs, Vons and Albertsons - and the United Food and Commercial Workers union locals were put on hold Tuesday because the federal mediator had to leave the area for a family emergency. Talks will resume on Thursday. There's no telling where things stand, but the two sides have been meeting every day - and well into the night - for more than two weeks. "As long as we think we can negotiate a deal, we'll stay at the table," said Mickey Kasparian, president of UCFW Local 135 in San Diego (here's the Union-Telegram story). The protracted impasse, which goes back to when the contract expired last March, suggests a strong reluctance by union officials to actually call for a walkout. Both the economy and the industry are far different than in late 2003, when supermarket workers went on strike for 20 weeks.