BUENA PARK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 13, 2007--Union members from United Food and Commercial Workers Local 324, whose nearly five-month long labor dispute with Southern California grocers in 2003/04 caused heartache for millions, will serenade management at Albertsons Regional Headquarters (1421 S. Manhattan Ave. in Fullerton) with love songs Wednesday urging them to "have a heart" and sign a fair work contract with their employees.

To drive the point home, a tap dancing red and white-faced heart will arrive at 1 p.m. to hand-deliver a giant greeting card adorned with a sampling of signatures from supportive customers, a fist-full of bright red foil balloons and a song.

"It's a light-hearted spectacle that we hope will expose these multi-billion dollar companies' practice of refusing to acknowledge employee contributions to their highly successful businesses," said Local 324 President Greg Conger.

Conger plans to be at the Albertsons located at 8880 Valley View in Buena Park from noon to 1 p.m. where union volunteers will be collecting more signatures for the petition they hope to deliver to Albertsons upper management before the contract expires March 5. It is from that location that the tap-dancing heart will disembark at about 12:45 p.m. for the short cruise to the company's headquarters located about a mile away. (Conger as well as several rank-and-file members are available to speak with reporters from this location.)

Negotiations for a new contract have been taking place between the unions and Albertsons, Ralphs and Vows for roughly three weeks with little or no progress on pivotal issues. Union leaders are hoping that events such as this will result in public pressure on the grocery chains to avert a conflict like the one three years ago.

UFCW Local 324 is the largest private-sector union in Orange County with approximately 24,000 members.

What: A singing telegram will be delivered to company executives.

When: Wednesday 1 p.m.

Where: Albertsons Regional HQ building at 1421 S. Manhattan Blvd., in Fullerton.

Who: Employees of Albertsons

Why: Because the loyal employees of Albertsons are feeling less love these days and don't want to give up on a happy future.

Copyright Business Wire 2007

United Food and Commercial Workers Local 324 (UFCW)

United Food and Commercial Workers Local 324 (UFCW)

The United Food and Commercial Workers Union is the largest private-sector union in the United States, representing 1.2 million workers nationally, about 20,000 of them in Los Angeles and Orange Counties.

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