The Union Bargaining Committee for Safeway last met with the Company on November 14, when both sides put forward positions on the outstanding non-monetary issues, and by the end of the day, most of those were resolved.

However, the limited discussion on monetary items went nowhere, as the Company insisted it wanted the same rollbacks to the agreement it obtained via the Special Officers award with Local 1518.

The Union Bargaining Committee has told the Company we will not recommend nor vote a settlement that ignores the effect of the Safeway store closures and conversions in this last year on the Company’s profitability.

The Union Bargaining Committee and the Company have now agreed to meet on February 18 with mediator Mr. Wayne Moore, for his assistance to try and reduce, if possible, the number of outstanding issues.

Further negotiations updates will be posted on www.ufcw247.com as soon as they are available.

The Union Safeway Bargaining Committee is Sharon Tuerlings, Alicia Whitehead, Doug Insley, Margaret Robins, Kathleen Allen, and Brian Taylor, and they were joined by UFCW 247 Secretary-Treasurer Dan Goodman, UFCW 247 President Suzanne Hodge, and Union Rep Cathy Shannon.