SAN DIEGO -- Hundreds of striking grocery workers walked picket lines outside San Diego supermarkets today, and no new negotiations were scheduled.

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Negotiations between the Vons, Ralphs and Albertsons grocery chains and the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union broke down at 9 p.m. Saturday, and clerks began picketing at Vons 90 minutes later, said the union's Barbara Maynard.

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"It is likely going to be several weeks before we sit down again," said Vons spokeswoman Sandra Calderon.

Union officials decided to target only one chain, but operators of Ralphs and Albertsons then ordered a lockout of their union employees. Maynard said that 21,000 Vons employees are on strike and 49,000 workers at Ralphs and Albertsons are locked out.

On Saturday, many of the stores closed when the workers walked out. Yesterday, most had reopened, but with shorter hours and some departments, like delis and pharmacies, shuttered.

The strikers are handing out leaflets to customers urging them to shop at other stores.

"I usually shop at Vons in North Park, but I don't want to cross the picket line," one shopper told 10News.

Customer traffic at the striking chains remained thin yesterday. Smaller stores not involved in the dispute reported a surge in business.

Laurie Kuchinsky, a "store captain" at Trader Joe's Hillcrest location said that business was up 15 to 20 percent yesterday.

According to a joint statement issued by the three companies shortly after the strike was announced, "the unions agreed that a strike against one company would be considered a strike against all three companies, and as a defensive move Albertsons and Ralphs will lock out their employees."

The companies have advertised for replacement workers and reportedly put letters in paychecks telling their workers how to resign from the union.

Ralphs officials said 20,000 replacement workers will be hired at its stores.

"All three grocery companies will continue to operate their stores, including their pharmacies, during the duration of the strike," the statement said. "Contingency plans are now being actively set in motion at each of the companies to ensure that stores remain open and staffed."

Teamsters union drivers who truck food to the stores are reportedly honoring the picket lines. The truckers are driving their rigs up to the picket lines, but nonunion workers at the stores must drive them the rest of the way to the loading docks, according to broadcast reports.

The union says the grocery companies want to cut health care benefits by 50 percent. In addition, the companies are seeking a temporary wage freeze and the right to hire new employees for less money.

The grocers said their proposal on health care is not as bad as the union has portrayed it.

"In view of the explosive growth in health care costs, the companies are asking employees to share in a very small portion of their health care benefits -- $5 a week for the employee's coverage and $10 to $15 a week to cover the entire family," according to the statement.

The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union represents about 70,000 market workers in Southern California and beyond. With some 900 stores in Southern California, the three companies reportedly represent 60 percent of the area's grocery store market.

UFCW members have not struck since 1978.