Locals 5 and 648 met with Safeway representatives on October 7^th and 8^th with little to show for the two days of meetings. Safeway continues to refuse to address many workplace issues that our members have told the union bargaining committee are important enough to fight for.

Safeway’s latest wage proposal continues to be an insult, increasing the offer by ten cents, to one dollar an hour over a 3-year period for experienced clerks and above. The first increase of thirty cents would not be retroactive to the contract expiration.

Members of the other Northern California UFCW union, where livings costs are a fraction of those in the Bay Counties where most of our members work, were handed $1.95 in hourly increases by Safeway over a 3-year period. Just as outrageous, Safeway’s current wage offer is half that bargained between Locals 5 and 648 and Lucky stores, Safeway’s main rival in Northern California.

Safeway representatives have also refused to discuss making available additional full-time opportunities; fully compensating employees for lost pay when wage calculation mistakes are made; earlier schedule posting and several other important union proposals.

While the union bargaining committee has worked diligently to achieve a mutually agreeable settlement that we can recommend to our members, it has become clear that Safeway is not taking the process or our members’ concerns seriously.

Details for an additional bargaining session are in the works. Absent an acceptable offer at that meeting, Locals 5 and 648 will move toward economic action against the company starting with a strike authorization vote of the members.

Please continue to visit the websites of Locals 5 and 648 for Safeway bargaining updates.