Cutting and pasting from labor fliers and guessing that the information is accurate -- and complete -- is an example of what's wrong here. No one is willing to dig deeper. How can we make up our minds after consulting just one side? I mention a wide spectrum of primary sources in my article.

The Kaiser Family Foundation report will tell you a lot about health insurance premiums and the typical split between employer and employee contributions.

But this strike is not about healthcare anyway. It is about the employees' desire for an increase in overall compensation, an increase that far exceeds cost of living. Whether it is advisable for Safeway to grant such an increase at a time when the company is having financial difficulties (read the annual report) and bracing for cut-throat competition from Wal-Mart supercenters (read the Bay Area Economic Forum report on Wal-Mart's supercenter plans), is the question.

Once again, the financial health of the employees depends on the financial health of the employer. What will flier-writer say when Wal-Mart moves in and Safeway employees begin to lose their jobs?