On Thursday, October 3 and Friday, October 4, your Bargaining Committee met with representatives from Safeway / Albertsons to continue bargaining for our new Union contracts throughout our area in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Wyoming, in conjunction with UFCW Local 1496 in Alaska.
Your Bargaining Committee made a proposal for significant wage increases, to address the high cost of living in our areas and to bring our areas up-to-par with wages up and down the West Coast. As you are all aware, our cost of living is out of control and Safeway / Albertsons knows this as they continue to struggle with maintaining and recruiting staff. It is time they update the wages and pay you all what it takes to live. The employer was not prepared to respond to our proposal as we made a comprehensive proposal on wages that includes standardizing area wages.
Our Union and the employer reached tentative agreements on a variety of topics, including:
- Doubling the amount of back pay the employer pays if you are wrongfully terminated
- Deleting language that allowed the employer to drug test following every reported workplace injury, even if you were not suspected of being under-the-influence
- Increasing the number of hours that Courtesy Clerks are credited in their Apprentice progression when they are promoted to All Purpose Clerk
Your Bargaining Committee and the employer will be scheduling more bargaining dates soon. We will keep you updated as bargaining progresses.
If you have any questions, please reach out to your Union Representative.