OC REGISTER: Irvine proposal would protect grocery jobs at small chains during mergers
A food workers union pushing to organize workers with Mother’s Market & Kitchen may have to wait until September to learn if Irvine City Council will support an ordinance designed to temporarily preserve hundreds of jobs with the small supermarket chain.
On Tuesday, Aug. 11, the council voted 5-2 to delay its decision on the proposal to a Sept. 22 meeting after Irvine Mayor Larry Agran threw his support behind the measure, which backs workers’ rights to keep their jobs for 90 days without fear of being fired during a corporate takeover. The new owner can offer a job to the workers during the first 90 days, but there’s no guarantee that any of them will be retained afterward.
Agran said that he supports the proposal — as did four other councilmembers — but wants City Attorney Jeffrey Melching to draft an ordinance to make sure it’s compliant with state law.