This move by Safeway is appalling. 

The Bargaining Committee has been negotiating with this employer for six months, and in that time, the Employer’s wage offer continues to be extremely insulting with less than 1% wage increases in some years, and NO wage increases in other years for many employees. Safeway also continues to demand concessions on benefits and refuses to agree to a pathway for meaningful full time jobs in the future. 

We believe that Safeway is now using bargaining delays to put more financial pressure on you. Grocery prices continue to rise, and Safeway continues to report profits off the backs of their workers. 

Workers who have dedicated their careers to this employer through a pandemic, natural disasters and disrespectful customer behaviour deserve better. The majority of workers at Safeway make minimum wage, with an extremely high number reporting they can’t afford to shop in the stores where they work so hard. Our Safeway members have not received meaningful wage increases in 10 years, and Safeway still refuses to negotiate a fair contract. 

So what do we do next? 

On August 1, we will meet with our Bargaining Committee and Advisory Committee to discuss our next steps. We need to be ready to escalate action against Safeway, informing the public about what they are doing, and fighting for a fair deal.

We will keep members informed about the next steps, because we need our Safeway members ready to take action.