union: raley's talks break down, strike called

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http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_SUPERMARKET_CHAIN_STRIKE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-11-04-06-04-38

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- Union workers at Raley's supermarkets in northern California and Nevada are going on strike after contract talks broke down early Sunday morning, the union said.

Picket lines will begin a 6 a.m. PST Sunday, said Ellen Anreder, a spokeswoman for the United Food and Commercial Workers Union.

The announcement came a few hours after a midnight talks deadline passed and both sides said the existing labor contract was being extended on an hour-by-hour basis at the request of the federal mediator.

But the union says in a statement released early Sunday that "by late on Saturday evening it had become obvious Raley's offer to extend the contract for an additional three days and return to the bargaining table" was a delaying tactic.