Safeway Gas Bar Update

Edmonton, AB – June 7, 2019

We have recently finished another round of Union negotiations with your Employer on June 5-7, 2019.

We are scheduled to meet again with your Employer on July 23rd.

Bargaining has been moving along at a decent pace and we suspect that we will have finished bargaining and have something for you to vote on after that session. In the event we do not finish bargaining, we would then be applying for Mediation to provide assistance in achieving an offer for you, the members, to vote on.

Your Employer still has a proposal on the table to expand the amount of hours working alone and that is a great concern. Along with that proposal, they still have a couple of concessionary proposals on the table that we are not prepared to entertain.

As you may know, most of you received a wage increase as a result of the minimum wage going up. This has fractured the current wage scale between classifications and we have had a lot of concerns raised by members on this issue. This issue has also created a reluctance on your employer’s part to negotiate proper wage increases.

We are still hopeful your Employer will move on some of these outstanding issues, however, we want to caution you to be prepared to support your committee if we end up coming to you with a request to turn down any offer that does not resolve the more serious issues that you have requested your Union try to resolve.

As we continue negotiations we will keep you informed and may request your assistance to help bolster your Union bargaining committee’s position. Please watch for further updates and check the UFCW 401 website often. You can find us at ufcw401.ca.

If you have questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact your Union Representative.

Sincerely,

Your Bargaining Committee