Smart & Final warehouse workers take to picket lines amid strike in Southern California

COMMERCE, Calif. (KABC) -- Workers are making their voices heard at two Smart & Final warehouses in Southern California. They are on strike, claiming the company is letting them go in a mass layoff.

"I'm devastated. I thought I was going to be able to retire with this company," said Hector Montes, who has worked for Smart & Final for more than two decades. "I put a lot of effort to be here. I struggled a lot. This is not an easy job. I broke my back for this company and this is the reward I get."

They say the company is telling them they can reapply for their jobs at a different warehouse in Rancho Cucamonga and their pay would be $10 to $12 less per hour.

"It's going to affect all of us drastically," said another worker, Felipe Jimenez. "It's very stressful at this time. We're still trying to figure how how are you going to do a pay cut and move us further and survive on that."

The workers feel this amounts to unfair labor practices. They say they unionized just last year and the two locations that are being closed are the only two that have a union.

"We've been negotiating for over a year and we haven't gotten anywhere," said Christian Castro from Teamster Joint Council 42. "And the truth is, now they're just going to close down two of the biggest distribution centers in Riverside and Commerce and consolidate them. It's the unionized distribution centers. It just seems fishy to us."

"The Teamsters' claims are simply not true," the company said in a statement. "We are currently integrating five outdated and capacity-strained facilities that are spread across 2,000 square miles. Our new facility will employ nearly 1,000 people, creating hundreds more American jobs than exist today."

The company added that the claim of 600 workers striking is inaccurate. It said it is operating the distribution centers with no major disruptions.

Workers say they received information indicating the drivers will be fired by the end of this month. The affected warehouses would stay open until November.