ustxtxb_obs_1977_11_18_50_00014-00000_000.pdf

Page 7

November 18, 1977, 12:00 AM, CST

Burger With 11Sealed in Freshnese r Here’ s our ell new iN/D Braiql liatuil -Pak Pure &mod Beet! Unconditionally guaraetod to be the best test , ground Beet you’ve ever sarved,.. or year money ilea. When you open this air-t .ight pat**, Me ratOvigi be Whe r 3 fottli3k-brn, As te ai reac

<div id="pico"><p>Burger  With  11Sealed in Freshnese r Here’ s our ell  new  iN/D Braiql liatuil -Pak Pure &mod  Beet! Unconditionally guaraetod to be the best test ,  ground Beet you’ve ever sarved,.. or year money ilea.  When you open this air-t .ight pat**, Me ratOvigi be  Whe  r  3 fottli3k-brn, As te ai reac<heS Vt,  ow   it wridoem" to  a brigill eed thin a  h matter et minutes_ this cukv  Mope' is youp Arai-mire pi quality and "Seale  ill  freStIlIeSS:'  -toom p lie goavo ....m.:wotgomo, ,,-0,,,,mo..   ANDERSON  COMPANY COFFEE TEA SPICES TWO JEfikilltSON SWAIM  AUSTIN, TEXAS 78731 51g. 453-1533  Send me your list.  Name    Street    City  Zip  LETTER FROM ALBUQUERQUE Dick Kent  By Fred Harris  Winn-Dixie, the nation's fifth largest  supermarket chain, has spread into New  Mexico as quietly as cobwebs. And  another independent, regional food retailer has "passed on," without even -so  much as perfunctory last rites being offered by our government's anti-trusters.  The Florida-based firm's purchase of  the local 'Foodway stores makes it  another notch bigger, but leaves the rest  of us that much smaller. Winn-Dixie,  with $3.3 billion in annual sales and more  than 1,000 stores throughout the South,  has left us the Foodway name and little  elselocal control and profits now flow  out of our community. The sale of the  regional chain tightens the grip that national supermarkets have on Albuquerque. Three of them now control 80 percent of the market.  A good many New Mexico workers  and consumers can be forgiven, I think,  for not being wildly pleased with this  transaction. And it's not because we're  against outsiders; I've only recently  moved here myself. \(I do admit that,  when the ski-lift lines in the Taos area  begin to get a little long in the wintertime, there is some local sprouting of  bumper stickers which read: "If God had  intended Texans to ski, he would have  given them mountains." But that's a seasonal sentiment, and a minority one at  It's that we don't lace the ill effects of  such remote bigness and the lack of  competition in the food industry. The retail clerks union has, for months and  months, been snarled in legal tangles  with the Winn-Dixie management since  the takeover. Just as Winn-Dixie was  buying Foodway, the retail clerks were  signing a renewed contract with local  supermarket companies, including  Safeway, Piggly Wiggly and Foodway.  But W/D is, outside New Mexico, a nounion company, and management apparently intends to try to break the union at  Foodway before breaking the no-union  habit. As they say here, W/D has more  "movidas," more maneuvers, than a decoying mother dove. The retail clerks  have had to learn a lot of lawand  they've taught W/D Some, too. The  union's winning, but how long will victory take? And at what cost? Can they  keep up the fight as long as Winn-Dixie?  I hope so. A city or region with  unionized labor is generally a place  where workers are more self-sufficient,  and taxpayers are not called upon to pay  for the food stamps, medicaid, public  housing, and other forms of public assistance that actually amount to subsidies  for employers who pay less than a living  wage. I'm a taxpayer.  I'm a consumer, too. Either I do our  grocery shopping alone, or my wife  LaDonna and I do it together. The first  thing I noticed after Winn-Dixie bought  Foodway was that, while Foodway kept  its name, W/D began to push its own  "house" brands, mostly produced hun 14  NOVEMBER 18, 1977 
</p>
</div>

Republish this article for free

All of the Texas Observer’s articles are available for free syndication for news sources under the following conditions:

Articles must link back to the original article and contain the following attribution at the top of the story:
This article was originally published by the Texas Observer, a nonprofit investigative news outlet. Sign up for their weekly newsletter, or follow them on Facebook and Twitter.”
Articles must include Texas Observer alongside author byline (first name / last name / Texas Observer)
Articles cannot be rewritten, edited or changed beyond alignments with house style books. Partners must notify [email protected] to make style changes.
Photos, illustrations and other art may be available for syndication but must be confirmed.
Promotional materials distributed by your outlet, including all social media work, must include cites for the Observer and our reporter. Outlets must also tag the Observer in all social media posts.
Please notify us by email that the article will be republished at [email protected].

You May Also Like

‘Forever Chemicals,’ Religion, and Family Tragedy in Texas

The Epic Texas Panhandle Fire Is Just a Preview

In Travis County, a Fight over Bail Hearings Has Big Stakes for Criminal Defendants