Publix Super Markets, Lakeland, Fla., is facing another sexual discrimination lawsuit. In a case filed last week, the plaintiff, a bakery plant manager, is seeking class-action status, claiming that as many as 20,000 female nonstore employees were victimized, published reports said. Robles & Gonzalez, Miami, the plaintiff's counsel, could not be reached for comment. In a statement, Publix said the suit was part of unionization efforts by the United Food and Commercial Workers. Last month, a judge in Tampa, Fla., ruled that another sexual discrimination suit against Publix, which could involve as many as 100,000 current and former employees, could proceed as a class action.
y stores. The sale is slated to close by the end of this month, Metro reported. The deal would be Metro's first acquisition since 1992, when it bought 48 stores and a produce distribution center from Steinberg Inc., Montreal. Duval would add about $49.1 million (U.S.) to Metro-Richelieu's 1995 sales base of $2.3 billion.
Canada Safeway, Calgary, Alberta, plans to cut about 200 full-time and part-time administrative jobs in Winnipeg, Manitoba; Saskatoon and Regina, Saskatchewan; Calgary and
Edmonton, Alberta; Vancouver, British Columbia, and Thunder Bay, Ontario. Most of the jobs will be eliminated over the next six months.
The Mexican American Grocers Association held its 12th annual marketing, sales and promotion conference late last month in Palm Springs, Calif., where it is based. In a panel discussion of chain and independent operators, marketing executives from Ralphs Grocery Co., Compton, Calif.; Vons Cos., Arcadia, Calif., and Lucky Stores' southern California division, Buena Park, Calif., described how their efforts to target and cater to Hispanic shoppers have boosted sales at Hispanic-dominant stores.
The Grocery Manufacturers of America and the Food Marketing Institute, both based in Washington, will hold their fifth annual Environmental Affairs Conference in San Francisco starting next week. Keynote speaker Rep. Sherwood L. Bohlert, R-N.Y., chairman of the House subcommittee on water resources and the environment, will discuss the shifting focus of environmental legislation and regulation and its potential effect on future regulations.
A lawsuit filed in 1990 against Food Lion, Salisbury, N.C., by the United Food and Commercial Workers Union was denied class-action status last week in a Charleston, S.C., court. The suit claimed Food Lion engaged in a practice of terminating employees to prevent them from being vested in its profit-sharing plan.
