BBB's favorite personal crusade that became law in the 1960s

My favorite cause that became law in the 1960s
By BumbleBeeBoogie

An idea that benefits millions of people started one day in the early 1960s as a result of my frustration while shopping in the cereal section of the Geary Road Co-op grocery store in Walnut Creek, California. The Consumer Cooperative's stores were beloved institutions in the Greater Bay Area and attracted lots of volunteer activity.

Manufacturers deliberately avoid standardized packaging sizes and content weight so consumers have a hard time determining the better buy. I had one of those only in the Bay Area "common good" ideas. I asked my friend, John Hopkins, a retired engineer who was a master of the slide rule, to help me compute the "price per pound" of the products. I called out the product's weight and price as we walked the store sections and John computed the cost-per pound, which I wrote on a tab and posted it on the shelf.

We spent the year's weekends computing the store's thousands of products and posting the information on the shelves next to the product prices. The product manufacturers hated what we were doing while store customers loved the price per pound information. Other neighborhood grocery stores learned what we were doing and started copying us. Our hand-posting task ended when the Co-op finally got its first computer system.

The most amazing part of this story occurred when the California Labor Federation learned of our project. The CLF's Executive Director, Jack Henning, asked me to testify before the California Legislature on a Bill to require that all grocery stores post accurate, up to date "price per pound" information on their shelves for their products. It was a tough fight, with the retail and wholesale producer industries fighting us every step of the way.

The California legislature voted to approve the Bill, but Governor Ronald Reagan vetoed the bill when it came to his desk. I was devastated, but never gave up. The CLF submitted the bill again and it was adopted with a three year "sunshine" time limit, at which time it would have to be renewed. This time, Reagan didn't veto the bill and it became law in California.

I testified before the legislature twice to block the efforts of big retailers and wholesalers to end to the law when its three-year "sunshine" effective period was due to end. With the help of California's Labor Movement, we defeated the special interest forces. The law is permanent in California and, amazingly, it spread nationwide.

So, when you go grocery shopping and you see the "price-per-pound" tabs information on the shelves to help you get the better buy, you know that one or two determined people volunteering for the Common Good can make a difference.