Just hours before a planned mass protest at the Lucky Store in Santa Clara and days before a strike involving 3500 members was scheduled to begin, the Save Mart Corporation has agreed to sign off on a contract settlement that will bring members historic wage increases, restore recession-era concessions and protect health care benefits.

When the deal was suddenly pulled off the table earlier this week, outraged members and union supporters gathered at Lucky stores in Oakland and Pinole in protests that gained wide consumer support and shut down business. With larger actions planned for Santa Clara and San Francisco and an International Union sanctioned strike about to begin, the company’s CEO contacted Local 5 president John Nunes and agreed to personally sign the agreement on Saturday. According to Nunes it was a very constructive discussion and both parties are prepared to finally execute the tentative agreement.

“This victory belongs to our members,” said Nunes. “They stood up for their rights, came together at rallies and let their managers know that they were serious about striking on Saturday night. Their solidarity and resolve has helped secure one of the best UFCW retail food settlements in recent memory.”

Details about the settlement and the ratification process will be released in the coming days. All protest actions have been cancelled.