A second union win against Sobeys!

UFCW Local 401 wins arbitration on customer rudeness and abuse

The tides appear to be turning in our long-running battle to get Sobeys to do the right thing.

Last week, we reported a major decision by the Court of Appeal reinstating union-won wage increases that Sobeys took away from senior Safeway members.

The company has since indicated they will comply with the Court’s ruling and pay our members the money they are owed by the end of March.

This week, we are able to report another victory for our Safeway members, this time winning an order that forces the company to put protections in place for members against customer rudeness and abuse in stores – something they agreed to do 5 years ago and failed to deliver.

“This is an important decision for our Safeway members, who deserve to feel safe every day they go to work,” says President Thomas Hesse. “But it’s an important decision for all Local 401 members because it shows that a strong union can force corporate giants like Sobeys to keep their word.”

During 2020 bargaining, Sobeys agreed to collective agreement terms that said they would develop a comprehensive, zero-tolerance program to address customer rudeness, abuse and improper behaviour in Safeway stores in consultation with your union’s President.

We negotiated that language because we’ve heard loud and clear from our members that this is a major issue in grocery stores.

Frustratingly, Safeway failed to do what they said they would, even after multiple requests at provincial health and safety meetings.

Your union filed a province-wide grievance and finally got to argue for your right to a new safety program at an arbitration hearing in October.

Arbitrator Michael Hughes sided with your union, agreeing that the company had breached the language of the collective agreement that required them to develop a program.

Hughes has now given the company a hard deadline to do what it promised to do five years ago.

In his decision, Hughes wrote, “There is a right to meaningful consultation, not simply discussion of a program that is not in alignment with the contractual commitment.” The company’s failure to engage in meaningful consultation, “undermined the crucial role of the Union as the statutorily recognized bargaining agent.”

The company tried to get out of its obligations on legal technicalities, saying that existing programs and policies already addressed the issues of customer rudeness and abuse.

Hughes disagreed with Sobeys’ rationale, writing:

“Based on the plain language in the contested article, as clarified through the definitions above, I concur with the Union’s argument that the obligation to take proactive steps suggests that management could not rely exclusively on an existing program, as doing so would not entail such additional proactive steps[…] there is nothing in the wording which clearly implies that reliance on an existing program would suffice[…]”

Safeway union members will be happy to hear that the decision:

• Declares that Sobeys breached the collective agreement by failing to develop a comprehensive program to address customer rudeness and abuse,
• Orders Sobeys to comply with the collective agreement by developing such a program and submitting it to your union’s President for review within 120 days,
• And awards your union $6,000 in damages.

After years of demanding that Sobeys do the right thing and address this troubling issue in their stores, an arbitrator has finally ordered them to do so.

Rest assured that your union will continue to push Sobeys to ensure their compliance with the decision.

“These two victories for Safeway workers reinforce that when we fight, we can win!” says Secretary Treasurer Richelle Stewart.

“We are a fighting union, and we will continue fighting for our members – in the courts, in front of arbitrators, and, if necessary, on the streets should negotiations require strong strike votes and job action,” concludes President Thomas Hesse.

Posted on: February 25,2026