The union representing grocery store workers in Southern California supermarkets said on March 10 it has authorized a strike vote as contract negotiations with the owners of Ralphs, Vons, Pavilions, and Albertsons have stalled. Bertha Rodríguez, communications coordinator for United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Union Local 770, told City News Service the vote will take place between March 21 and March 26. The local is one of seven representing some 60,000 grocery workers in more than 500 stores from the Central Valley to the Mexico border. Talks have been stopped, Rodríguez said. A three-year-old labor contract between the unionized grocery workers and Southern California supermarkets expired on March 7, raising fears of a possible strike. “Bargaining committees composed of front-line grocery workers and union leaders came prepared with proposals that would fairly increase wages and improve store conditions to reflect the needs of workers in a pandemic and post-pandemic …