SAN DIEGO -- As the supermarket strike and lockout entered its fourth month, private talks aimed at resolving the labor dispute broke down Sunday, 10News reported.

The union and the supermarket chains met over the weekend without a federal mediator, but the talks ended with no progress made toward a settlement.

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"We met for many hours face-to-face with the employers in search of common ground over the weekend," Rick Icaza and Mike Straeter of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union said in a joint statement. "We are deeply disappointed that the supermarket giants are unwilling to compromise on their plan to push 70,000 working Californians out of the middle class, cut workers' health benefits by 50 percent and slash workers' pension. We are staying in this fight."

When asked about the union announcement, Ralphs spokesperson Terry O'Neil said: "No comment."

O'Neil declined to discuss the strike, other than to say, "It's still going on."

The 70,000 employees of Ralphs, Vons and Albertsons have been on strike or locked out for three months. The main sticking point is reportedly the companies' demand that employees pay more for the rising costs of healthcare benefits.

Earlier this month, the union filed lawsuits against Ralphs markets, alleging racketeering and claims that union members were urged to work under false names.

The suit alleged Ralphs managers went to some locked-out workers they had good relations with and offered to provide them with false identities, in some cases using the Social Security numbers of the employees' minor children or relatives.

Union officials also said the company may have coerced some workers, especially immigrant workers, with threats that they might not get jobs unless they agreed to cross the picket lines.

Ralphs then sent those employees to stores other than the ones they worked at prior to the lockout to avoid having them be recognized, the union alleges.

No new discussions are scheduled, but the federal mediator hopes to bring the sides back to the bargaining table by the end of the month, said the union's Barbara Maynard.

"We are ready to go back to the table at any moment," Maynard said. "We hope the employers feel the same way soon."