Grocery strike spreads to three more US states

The number of striking grocery workers in the US could top 100,000 this week, as the dispute over healthcare benefits spreads beyond California.

United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) members in West Virginia, Ohio and Kentucky have joined their 70,000 Californian comrades in copycat actions.

The strikers are targeting three supermarkets - Safeway, under the Vons and Pavillions banner; Kroger in its Ralphs stores; and Albertsons.

Unionised staff are governed by the same working conditions contract, which is up for renewal and at the centre of the controversy. Negotiations have stalled and the strike is expected to enter a second week.

The UFCW has more than a million members, meaning the scale of the action could balloon as picketers put the national spotlight on benefit and healthcare cuts.

The UFCW maintains that the grocers' annual healthcare contributions are below the national average. 'This is a fight for all supermarket workers, here and across the country,' said a spokesman. 'If these three super-size, super-profitable chains can cut benefits here, then every worker is at risk.'

Grocers argue that healthcare costs more than doubled in the four years of the expired contract. They point to the threat of Wal-Mart, which is non-unionised and plans to open up to 40 superstores in Southern California alone.