Fifty Cincinnati activists and labor officials last week lobbied the parent company of the Bigg's supermarket chain, calling for union representation for Bigg's employees.

        Bigg's workers have wrangled for 14 years for union representation, said Alyson Steele, communications director for the Cincinnati AFL-CIO Labor Council.

        Milford-based Bigg's is a wholly owned subsidiary of Supervalu, the 10th-largest food retailer and the nation's leading food distributor.

        Longtime civil-rights activist Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth spoke at the Supervalu shareholders meeting in Minneapolis on Wednesday.

        “Bigg's' record is minuscule in benefits,” the Rev. Mr. Shuttlesworth said by phone Sunday. “And people should have the right to choose to be in a union.”

        Bigg's operates 11 supermarkets and has been aggressively competing with Kroger and other supermarkets in Greater Cincin nati with its “Minimum Low Price” campaign.

        While many Supervalu workers have union representation, Bigg's supermarket employees don't, Ms. Steele said. Community leaders previously had been denied a meeting with Bigg's president and CEO Pierre Wevers, she said.

        “For some reason with Bigg's, they have been extremely hesitant to let union representatives talk with their workers,” Ms. Steele said.

        But employees who want union representation have renewed hope following the Minneapolis meeting, at which the Rev. Mr. Shuttlesworth demanded the right of workers to speak to union representatives.

        He also criticized Bigg's, saying it offers employees a weak 401(k) plan and requires employees to pay more than their fair share for family insurance benefits.

        The Rev. Mr. Shuttlesworth and Sister Monica McGloin of the Cincinnati Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice spoke at the meeting. Afterward, they met with a labor-relations representative from Supervalu, Ms. Steele said.

        The Rev. Mr. Shuttlesworth said he is hopeful a meeting with Mr. Wevers and other community leaders is forthcoming.

        Representatives from Bigg's could not be reached for comment Sunday.

        The Rev. Mr. Shuttlesworth will hold a news conference at 1 p.m. today at Greater New Light Baptist Church at 710 N. Fred Shuttlesworth Circle in North Avondale to discuss the meeting in Minneapolis.

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