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HOW WAGES AND WORKING CONDITIONS FOR CALIFORNIA'S FOOD RETAIL WORKERS HAVE DECLINED AS THE INDUSTRY HAS THRIVED

Declined as the Industry has Thrived is based on worker surveys, in-depth interviews with workers and employers, analysis of industry and government data, and reviews of existing academic literature. It represents the most comprehensive analysis ever conducted of California's food retail industry. The report shows that while California's food retail industry has enjoyed consistent growth over the past two decades, the expansion of a low-price, low-cost business model – and the choices that traditional, unionized grocers have made in the face of it – have produced a dramatic wage decline, with high rates of poverty and hunger among workers in a sector that once enjoyed relatively high wages and unionization rates. The report calls for a two-pronged strategy to arrest and reverse these trends: support for unionization, and public policies that support livable wages and benefits. This strategy would promote the creation of good jobs in the food retail sector and help build long-term prosperity for California's families and communities. California's food retail industry has shown consistent and robust growth in sales and employment, with employment growing faster than in the economy overall. Between 2000 and 2011, the number of grocery stores in California – the largest segment of food retail establishments in the state– increased by 5%, from 9,893 to 10,403.