Safeway strike averted as unions reach tentative agreement with grocer

Source: San Francisco Chronicle

By Jerry Wu

A potential strike involving thousands of Safeway employees across the Bay Area was averted this weekend as their union representatives and the company reached a tentative agreement for a new labor contract early Sunday after months of negotiations.

The new agreement came a few hours before grocery workers from almost 250 stores from Grapevine (Kern County) to the Oregon border would have walked off their jobs and picketed, according to Local 5 of the United Food and Commercial Workers.

Sunday’s strike would have been the first regional labor stoppage against the company in almost 30 years, according to UFCW 5.

The new agreement, scheduled for ratification votes in the unions in the coming days, fulfills many key terms Safeway employees have been vying for the past five months since negotiations for a new contract kicked off. Those include improved wages, pension plans, work scheduling and health care benefits. Full details of the agreement will be released after the ratification votes, UFCW 5 said.

Read more: https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/thousands-bay-area-safeway-employees-go-strike-20786944.php