Picture this: a working mom pulls into a grocery store parking lot just before sunset. She’s still in her work clothes, juggling texts about dinner and a reminder that her child’s soccer game starts in 20 minutes. She runs inside, grabs a few snacks and drinks, just a quick in-and-out.
Except it’s not quick anymore.
The self-checkout lanes are closed. The lines stretch halfway down the aisle. What should have taken five minutes now takes 45. She’s late, stressed, and wondering why something so simple suddenly feels so hard.
This is exactly what Santa Ana is about to do, turn everyday errands into unnecessary burdens by banning self-checkout.
At a time when Orange County families are already struggling with some of the highest costs in the nation for groceries, gas, and housing, this proposal doesn’t just miss the mark, it makes life more expensive and more complicated.
Self-checkout isn’t just about convenience. It’s about keeping costs down. Retail operates on razor-thin margins. Forcing stores to staff every lane increases labor costs significantly and those costs don’t disappear. They show up on your receipt.
Moreover, restrictions on self-checkout do not protect grocery store staff, as proponents claim. In fact, they limit opportunities for career growth. Instead of developing new skills across different roles in the store, employees are confined to the register. Grocery workers need training in broader skills to turn an entry-level or part-time job into a long-term career.
Perhaps worst of all, eliminating self-checkout could force stores to close. Think about the small neighborhood grocery store, the one that knows your name, sponsors the local little league team, and is doing everything it can to stay afloat. Now imagine layering on yet another mandate that drives up operating costs. At some point, the math just doesn’t work. And when a store closes, it’s not just an inconvenience. It’s fewer jobs, fewer options, and longer drives just to buy basic necessities.
We’ve already seen how this plays out. In Long Beach, restrictions on self-checkout led to closed lanes and longer waits. Shoppers didn’t feel protected, they felt frustrated.
Because the truth is, people like self-checkout. They choose it. It’s faster. It’s easier. It offers privacy for personal purchases. Taking that choice away doesn’t help workers, it ignores the needs of the customers they serve.
And let’s be honest about a broader frustration many Californians share: when was the last time government actually reduced your cost of living? When was the last time your taxes went down? Even when there’s an opportunity, like with the gas tax, relief rarely comes.
Instead, we see policy after policy that quietly makes everyday life more expensive. This is another one.
Supporters claim this is about safety or theft. But California law already allows video from self-checkout systems to be used in prosecutions. Removing those systems doesn’t make stores safer; it removes tools that help deter and document crime.
And this isn’t happening in isolation. In Sacramento, there was a path forward, a negotiated approach that would have addressed labor’s concerns without dramatically increasing costs for stores or consumers. That deal was on the table. It would have provided balance.
But instead of working toward that solution, labor walked away and is now pursuing a city-by-city strategy, trying to impose through local ordinances what couldn’t pass at the state level. The result is a patchwork of inconsistent rules that makes it harder and more expensive for retailers to operate across communities.
Consumers should not be fooled. This isn’t about safety. It isn’t about affordability. It’s about flexing political power at the expense of hardworking Californians who will ultimately pay the price at the register.
At the end of the day, this isn’t about technology. It’s about real people, the parent trying to make it to a game on time, the worker stretching a paycheck, the small business trying to keep its doors open.
Santa Ana shouldn’t make their lives harder. The City Council should vote no—and focus instead on what families are actually asking for: relief, affordability, and common sense.
Alberta Christy is a longtime Santa Ana resident and community leader who has served on the Santa Ana City Council and as a Historic Resources Commissioner. She has been chairperson of the Valley Adams Neighborhood Association and a recognized voice for working families in Orange County since 1969.