700 El Super grocery workers OK union contract with ICE protections

Nearly 10 months after their labor contract expired, about 700 union food workers with El Super Markets in Southern California ratified a five-year contract that includes wage increases and protection from immigration raids.

The contract with the United Food and Commercial Workers Locals 324 (Buena Park), 770 (Los Angeles) 1167 (Inland Empire) and 1428 (east Los Angeles and San Bernardino County) covers 700 of 5,000 workers with the Latino supermarket chain. It guarantees higher pay at seven grocery stores in Southern California and protections from immigration raids in “private areas” of the business, a union spokeswoman said Monday evening, Feb. 25.

The agreement comes after months of bargaining with executives of El Super’s parent firm, Commerce-base Chedraui USA Inc., which operates more than 380 stores under the El Super Markets, Fiesta Mart and Smart & Final banners.

A sticking point in the talks had been the chain’s reluctance to adopt protections during workplace raids by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or permit some workers who need to take time off to deal with immigration issues.

These issues were resolved with new contract language that says — “unless required by law, the employer will not allow agents of DHS or ICE to access any nonpublic area of the worksite without a warrant,” according to a flyer outlining terms of the agreement.

The labor contract, which expired April 16, 2025, and is now extended through February 2031, also includes $500 ratification bonuses for each full-time employee and $250 for part-time workers, according to the flyer.

Higher pay was approved for runners, clerks and skilled positions for workers at stores in Anaheim, Covina, Inglewood and Santa Fe Springs, than for those same positions at three stores within the city limits of Los Angeles. Pay for food workers at many Los Angeles supermarkets is lower due to an industry-wide shift toward a non-unionized business model with part-time and non-benefited positions.

Skilled workers outside of L.A., for instance, will get paid slightly more — $2.25 an hour more in the first year of the contract — while those working for stores in L.A.., will receive between $1.25 and $2.25 an hour, depending on where the store is located.

A spokesperson with El Super was not immediately available for comment.

Commerce-based Chedraui is a unit of Grupo Commercial Chedraui, the third-largest retailer in Mexico. In 2021, Chedraui bought Smart & Final from private equity owner Apollo Global Management for about $620 million, plus debt. In June, Chedraui announced the opening of a new 1.4-million-square-foot distribution facility in Rancho Cucamonga.

In 1997, El Super opened its first store in the U.S. in South Gate.  As of November 2025, El Super Markets reported 70 stores across California, Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona and Texas. Roughly 50 of the stores are in Southern California.