In the early hours of Friday, October 13, our UFCW 247 Bargaining Committee reached a tentative agreement with Sobeys on a new collective agreement for members working in Safeway Meat, Deli, and Seafood departments across BC. The agreement is not finalized until it has been ratified by a democratic vote of the UFCW Local 247 Safeway members.

The UFCW Local 247 bargaining committee is strongly recommending that members vote YES to accept the tentative agreement. What follows are the details of the ratification presentation and voting plan for the week of October 16, 2023.

SAFEWAY RATIFICATION PLAN

October 16 – Email and Telephone Townhall at 7 PM PDT

The tentative agreement and summary document was emailed out to all UFCW 247 Safeway members for whom we have email addresses on Monday, October 16. It is also available for download on our Safeway Bargaining page.

All UFCW 247 Safeway members are invited to participate in a Telephone Townhall meeting on Monday evening to receive a summary of the tentative agreement and ask questions. Participating in the Telephone Town Hall is as easy as answering your phone. We’ll call at 7 PM on October 16, so make sure to be by your phone. If we don’t have your number, or if you miss the call, you can join the Telephone Town Hall by calling 1-877-229-8493 and entering ID code 116389 at 7 PM on October 16. You can also stream the meeting online here: www.access.live/UFCW247.

October 16-20 – Outreach and Store Visits

UFCW 247 bargaining committee members will be visiting stores across the province all week to review the tentative agreement with members and answer questions. Members can also reach out to us at 1-800-667-2205 or ufcw@ufcw247.com with their questions or to have a committee member or union representative get back to them.

October 18 – Online Ratification Voting Opens

Like our successful strike authorization vote last month, the Safeway ratification vote will be held using SimplyVoting. Online voting has been approved by the Labour Board, as it is confidential, secure, accessible, and democratic. You can vote from any internet-enabled device, including a phone, tablet, or desktop computer. Please note that all UFCW 247 members working at Safeway in BC (Zone 1 and Zone 2) are eligible to vote on the tentative agreement.

You should receive voting credentials to your email address on October 18 at 9 AM PDT. Your voting credentials will be sent directly from SimplyVoting, which will have a different email appearance than our usual emails. If you are currently receiving our email updates, then you should have no issue receiving your credentials from us by email. If someone you know is not currently receiving our email updates, it may be because we don’t have their updated information. See “Get Connected” below to fix this.

If you do not receive your credentials by email on October 18 at 9 AM and you have checked your Spam or Junk folders, please call the union office at 1-800-667-2205 to request them. You will be asked to verify your identity. Anyone requiring in-person assistance to vote can contact our Head Office at 1-800-667-2205 or ufcw@ufcw247.com.

October 20 – Voting Closes, Results Announced

Online voting will close at 3 PM PDT on October 20. Results of the vote will be shared by email and posted on our website as soon as they are available.

GET CONNECTED

As always, if any UFCW Local 247 Safeway member is not receiving our updates, they can connect with us by sending an email to ufcw@ufcw247.com or phoning toll-free 1-800-667-2205 and provide their full name, employee number, store number, email address, and cell phone number. Our Safeway bargaining updates remain available on our website.