About 100 community supporters and union food workers with El Super Markets in Southern California rallied Wednesday, Jan. 21 at the Mexican supermarket chain’s headquarters in Commerce, seeking improved wages and protection from immigration raids.
The five-year contract with the United Food and Commercial Workers Locals 324 (Buena Park) and 770 (Los Angeles) — which together represent 700 of 5,000 workers with the Latino supermarket chain — expired April 16, 2025, said Matt Bell, president of UFCW Local 770.
Bell said union representatives plan to resume stalled negotiations Jan. 22 with executives of El Super’s parent firm, Chedraui USA Inc., which operates more than 380 stores under the El Super Markets, Fiesta Mart and Smart & Final banners.
El Super and its parent, Chedraui, want to renew the five-year labor contract that pays its workers slightly above the state’s minimum wage of $16.90, according to Bell, who is urging a three-year deal for “livable wages” that keep up with inflation.
Last fall, the union rejected a company offer of wage increases ranging from one penny to 22 cents hourly. The union also is seeking health and safety protections to prevent injuries, sufficient staffing and guaranteed work hours.
The union also is upset that the chain won’t adopt protections during workplace immigration raids by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or permit some workers who need to take time off to deal with immigration issues.
“It’s incredibly hypocritical that they won’t include the language,” said Bell. “They have a Latino workforce. Their customers are Latino, but yet they aren’t addressing the immigration issue that is clearly a major issue facing our nation right now.”
Proposed language offered up to the company says — “unless required by law, the employer will not allow agents of DHS or ICE to access any non-public area of the worksite without a warrant.”
“They want to have authority to do what they want to do,” said Bell, whose union represents Orange County’s Anaheim, Orange and Santa Ana stores and Los Angeles County’s Santa Fe Springs supermarket. “The workers just want to feel safe. Customers want to feel safe.”
Similar protections were included in labor contracts negotiated last year with Albertsons and Kroger, which owns the Ralphs chain in Southern California, Encino-based Gelson’s Markets and Super A Foods, a family-owned supermarket chain based in Commerce.
In a statement provided to Southern California News Group, Chedraui executives said they could not speak to points raised by the union in an “ongoing negotiation.”
“We do not receive advance notice of immigration enforcement actions, nor do we participate in them, and our organization does not coordinate with ICE or U.S. Border Patrol. As a matter of policy, we do not allow access to nonpublic areas of our facilities without a valid warrant or other lawful authorization,” the company said. “We value our team members and the communities we serve, and remain committed to bargaining in good faith, following all labor laws, and creating a safe and respectful workplace for every associate while continuing to provide affordable food for our customers.”
Teobora Urieta, who works as a cashier with El Super in Santa Fe Springs, said she wants immigration protections and a “fair contract.”
” A lot of teenagers come into our store to buy groceries for their parents because they are scared,” said Urieta, who has worked for the chain for 16 years.
Giovanni Garcia, a customer at the El Super store along Slauson Avenue, says he runs over to the grocery store’s parking lot every time he hears of ICE raids in the neighborhood to pass out red cards. The pocket-sized cards outline an individual’s constitutional rights when approached by ICE agents, helping them assert the right to remain silent and refuse entry without a judicial warrant.
Commerce-based Chedraui is a unit of Grupo Commercial Chedraui, the third-largest retailer in Mexico. In 2021, Chedraui bought Smart & Final from private equity owner Apollo Global Management for about $620 million, plus debt. In June, Chedraui announced the opening of a new 1.4-million-square-foot distribution facility in Rancho Cucamonga.
In 1997, El Super opened its first store in the U.S. in South Gate. As of November 2025, El Super Markets reported 70 stores across California, Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona and Texas. Roughly 50 of the stores are in Southern California.
Above, Teobora Urieta, a cashier with El Super in Santa Fe Springs, is worried about immigration raids. About 100 community supporters and union food workers with El Super Markets in Southern California rallied Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026, at the corporate headquarters of the Mexican supermarket chain in Commerce, seeking improved wages and protections from immigration raids. (Photo by Pat Maio) Above, 29-year-old Giovanni Garcia, who has been shopping at El Super at Slauson Avenue in Los Angeles since he was 12 years old, is worried about immigration raids. About 100 community supporters and union food workers with El Super Markets in Southern California rallied Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026, at the corporate headquarters of the Mexican supermarket chain in Commerce, seeking improved wages and protections from immigration raids. (Photo by Pat Maio) Above, Aracelia Pinedo, a cashier with El Super in Los Angeles, wants a fair contract and protection from ICE raids in her community. About 100 community supporters and union food workers with El Super Markets in Southern California rallied Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026, at the corporate headquarters of the Mexican supermarket chain in Commerce, seeking improved wages and protections from immigration raids. (Photo by Pat Maio) Show Caption1 of 3Above, Teobora Urieta, a cashier with El Super in Santa Fe Springs, is worried about immigration raids. About 100 community supporters and union food workers with El Super Markets in Southern California rallied Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026, at the corporate headquarters of the Mexican supermarket chain in Commerce, seeking improved wages and protections from immigration raids. (Photo by Pat Maio) ExpandRelated Articles
California law gives state more power over workplaces. Trump suing to block it Riverside Amazon workers walk off the job in the middle of the night 200 El Super union workers rally for protections from immigration raids 24,000 registered nurses ratify new four-year contract with UC 40,000 patient care, technical workers launch 2-day UC strikeHence then, the article about el super union workers rally for protection from ice in new contract was published today ( ) and is available on Los Angeles Daily News ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( El Super union workers rally for protection from ICE in new contract )
Also on site :