Update 10/16/23: The Tentative Agreement and information about the Ratification Vote process has been posted on our Safeway Bargaining page.

We are pleased to share that, in the early hours of Friday, October 13, 2023, our bargaining committee reached a tentative agreement with Sobeys over a new contract for our members working in Safeway Meat, Deli, and Seafood departments across BC.
 
Thanks to UFCW Local 247 members, our bargaining committee came into meetings with the company this week with a 99% strike authorization vote, an amazing expression of our members’ strength and solidarity. Without a doubt, our talks with Sobeys were also positively impacted by the progress made by UFCW Local 1518 on some key issues in their negotiations. That solidarity was a powerful thing this time around.

After months of meetings and mobilizing, when we came into negotiations this week, Sobeys tabled a comprehensive offer intended to get us to an agreement. This was a big move, though there were still some key issues that needed to be addressed. We kept pushing until we got something we felt we could bring back to our members.

Our committee worked hard to achieve an agreement that they are strongly recommending to UFCW Local 247 members.
 
UFCW Local 247 staff are hard at work preparing tentative agreement documents so members can see the details quickly and easily. They are also making plans for a Telephone Town Hall meeting and ratification voting process that will align with UFCW 1518’s voting process next week. UFCW Local 247 Safeway members should receive information about the ratification vote process to their email inboxes later today.

Our bargaining committee members will be out in the stores early next week to go through things and answer questions.
 
“We want to extend the biggest thank you to all who offered their solidarity and support over the last several months,” said UFCW Local 247 President, Dan Goodman. “We could not have gotten to this point without those efforts. We are looking forward to sharing details of this tentative agreement with you early next week.”

Our Safeway bargaining updates from throughout this process are available on our website at www.ufcw247.com/safeway-bargaining

As always, if any Safeway members are not receiving our updates, please be sure to tell them to 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.