On June 22nd UFCW 1518 hosted a special Telephone Townhall for Safeway members regarding the Tentative Agreement on the wage review. Members heard from President Patrick Johnson, Secretary-Treasurer Ronda Melbourne, Union Representative and Lead Negotiator Daxter Stucki, and Safeway Bargaining Committee member Angela Crosato.
Key Remarks
During the town hall, bargaining Committee member Angela Crosato discussed the wage increases:
The agreement provides off-scale wage increases of an additional 0.5% (for a total of 2.5%) effective June 7, 2026, and 3.5% effective June 6, 2027, for over-scale and top-rated Grid A and Grid B members, as well as Management Trainees, Floral Operators, Bakers, and Service Clerks.
She talks about how Sobeys weren’t keen on giving them a 2.5% wage increase. But they did eventually give in.
“I’m extremely pleased with the negotiated outcome, and I fully support this wage reopener ratification vote.”
Ronda Melbourne then told the story of how the union carefully planned its next move after the 2023 round of bargaining. The bargaining committee joined forces with experienced negotiators Daxter Stucki and Jason Frank to map out how to push for better wage increases for Safeway members. Timing was on their side: they had just wrapped up negotiations with Save-On-Foods, securing gains that could serve as a strong benchmark.
They then met with Safeway on June 1st and 2nd. That effort led directly to where they are now, presenting a tentative agreement focused on improving wages through the negotiated review.
Read the Memorandum of Settlement Agreement here.
Read the Safeway Wage Review Highlights here.
Lead negotiator Daxter Stucki gave an overview of the tentative agreement, saying, “This agreement delivers real improvements for Safeway members across multiple classifications.”
There have also been wage improvements for Pharmacy Assistants and Registered Pharmacy Technicians. Part-time Pharmacy Assistants and Registered Pharmacy Technicians hired before October 20, 2023, will no longer have their rate of pay reduced if they become Full-Time.
Over-scale and top-rated bakers will receive off-scale wage increases of an additional 0.5% (for a total of 2.5%) effective June 7, 2026, and 3.5% effective June 6, 2027. The agreement also establishes a new Grid B Skilled Baker wage scale, including recognition of previous industry experience for qualified bakers. All off-scale increases will be retroactive to June 7, 2026.
Process Overview
If ratified there is a 2.5% wage increase. If the tentative agreement does not ratify and the union goes to a final offer selection, members will still get the 2% increase that was bargained for in 2023.
So, for those members that are still waiting for your wage increase that should have taken place on June 7th, if the agreement ratifies, you’ll get that money one way or another. It will either be 2.5% if this ratifies or 2% if it does not.
If the tentative agreement gets voted down, we go into final offer selection. What that process is, essentially the union and bargaining committee would propose their submission. They would present that to the arbitrator who has chosen, and the employer would also do the same thing. They would put through what they would like to see happen. The arbitrator takes the packages, they review them, they look at what is fair. They’ll look at what other industries, what other grocery stores, maybe at Save-On-Foods, what they got, and the arbitrator will choose one or the other. They don’t get to pick between the employers and the union submissions. They get to choose one or the other. Final offer of selection is really in the arbitrator’s hands.
Your bargaining committee is proud of this agreement and is unanimously recommending a YES vote. They believe it delivers meaningful wage gains, improves opportunities to reach higher rates of pay more quickly, and recognizes the valuable contributions of Safeway members across all departments.
Vote Details
Voting for the tentative agreement will run from June 23rd at 9am to June 25th at 12pm. Voting will take place on simply voting. If you do not receive the voting credentials, please contact reception@ufcw1518.com