Safeway News

Pension update

The Trustees of the UFCW Pension Plan are pleased to announce all active and retired members in the Safeway Division of the pension plan will be receiving an increase on their pension benefit.

The most recent actuarial valuation of the Division, as at December 31, 2021, showed that the Division is in an excess funded position. A portion of this excess will be used to increase pensions currently in payment and to increase the benefits of those members who are active in the Division.

This is excellent news and is made possible due to the improvement in the Division’s financial condition. A copy of the notice can be viewed here.

Grievance Arbitration update

UFCW 1518 recently received a successful decision on the arbitration they had with Safeway/Sobeys over a cost-of-living clause in their collective agreement. This language is identical to the language in the UFCW 247 Safeway collective agreement which talks about one-time payments for our members at top rate in the production clerk classification as well as those in all other classifications at top rate due to the Consumer Price Index exceeding 3% for the time period of March 2021 to March 2022.

UFCW 247 have also had discussions with the Employer on the matter and had advised them that we were taking the same position as Local 1518 and therefore our members should receive the same payments. The Company just last week decided to appeal the arbitrator’s decision by making an appeal application to the Labour Board.

We will keep members advised on the progress of the appeal and any subsequent decision.
 

Bargaining

Meetings were held with Safeway members from different classifications and geographic areas of the province to review the submitted contract proposals from our membership.

Union bargaining proposals from that meeting held on January 12, and 13^th are being finalized in the office, and the first set of bargaining dates are set to begin February 6-10^th 2023.

Your union bargaining committee was selected from the group of Safeway members who attended the proposal meeting and who also volunteered to step forward, represent the membership, their co-workers and be part of the bargaining process.

Your bargaining committee consists of: Margaret Robins, Joanne Lipp, Wendy Dewhurst, Kirste Hawgood, Oenone Bain, Erin O’Leary, Doug Insley, Brian Taylor, Nick Tomaine, and Alicia Whitehead.

Meet your Bargaining Team:

• Margaret Robins is a 38 + year Deli Clerk from the lower mainland
• Joanne Lipp is a 34-year Deli Clerk from the lower mainlad
• Wendy Dewhurst is a 37-year Deli Clerk from the lower mainland
• Brian Taylor is a 28-year journeyperson meat cutter from the lower mainland
• Nick Tomaine s a 2-year member who was a Grid B meat cutter production clerk before becoming a meat cutter through the new company cutter training program from the lower mainland
• Alicia Whitehead is an 8-year former Grid B meat deli seafood production clerk and is now a journeyperson meat cutter who trained through the union’s scholarship program for meat cutting at Thompson River university from the lower mainland
• Kirste Hawgood is an 11-year former Grid B meat, deli, and seafood clerk, and is now the current Seafood Operator from Kamloops BC
• Oenone Bain is a former Grid B meat deli and seafood production clerk, former deli manager, and is now a Grid A Deli Clerk with over 20 years from Nelson BC
• Erin O’Leary is also an 11-year Meat Deli and seafood production clerk who currently works in the Vernon BC store
• Doug Insley is a 34 + year journeyperson meat cutter formerly from the lower mainland who now works and resides in Kelowna BC

“These members, your co-workers are meat cutters, deli clerks, and seafood clerks with immense wealth of experience and knowledge in their classifications,” said Cathy Shannon Assistant to the President,  “I know they will represent you all well.” she added.

We would like to thank everyone on your committee for their commitment and desire to take on the responsibility on fighting to improve your collective agreement during these challenging times. Your committee’s wealth of experience and knowledge will be put to good use in representing our issues at the bargaining table.

Your Union will be providing email updates on the progress of negotiations and all Safeway members are encouraged to ensure they have their emails updated by contacting the Union office at 604.535.8329 or email ufcw@ufcw247.com.