SAFEWAY BARGAINING UPDATE # 6

Your Bargaining Committee has concluded another session of negotiations with Safeway July 5^th and 6^th 2023.

While your committee was hopeful that a comprehensive wage proposal presented to the Company would help the Company understand what areas needed improvement, your committee was left disappointed with the Company’s response.

The Company submitted an offer that had very little to do with retaining or improving the current labour in our stores.

The wages offered do not meet the needs of our members but assure that the Company stays very profitable in the marketplace.

Unfortunately, the Union and the Company are not very close to being able to come to an agreement due to the demands to be competitive for the Company in BC’s expensive living climate.  We are committed to getting the best possible deal for our members and the Company was shown a united front during the last wage discussion.

“After 40 years with Safeway, this is by far the most meaningful work I have done” said committee member Margaret (Deli Clerk, Lower Mainland).  “This is not easy work, but I have the faces of my co-workers in mind as I do it”.

“We are retaining a strong focus and I am thankful that we have the experience and history to stand strong against the Company”, added Kirste (Seafood Clerk, Kamloops) “just look at all the years of service in this room alone, it is so invaluable.”

While progress felt slow and unproductive, your committee tabled an amended proposal to the Company to try and get the conversation moving forward. 

The Company withdrew several items that were a hard NO! from our side giving us a positive end to the bargaining session.

We have a long way to go to be close on wages and in a few other areas, but the movement was a sign of the need to understand both sides wanting to achieve a workable and realistic agreement for the future.

The next bargaining dates are set for August 22^nd – 24^th 2023.

Your Union will continue to provide email updates on the progress of negotiations to all members who have registered their emails.

If you know of members who are not receiving the email updates and are interested in receiving future updates, please encourage members to contact the Union office to add their email to the mailing list.

If you are aware of any members who have signed up and are still not receiving updates, we may not have their correct email address on file.

Please encourage those members to check their spam folders or contact the Union office to verify that we have their correct email address.

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