ALBERTA SAFEWAY EMPLOYEES SERVE STRIKE NOTICE TO SOBEYS

EDMONTON — Today, UFCW Local 401 served Sobeys Inc. with strike notice following the strong strike mandate voted by Safeway workers held last week. If a deal cannot be reached, Safeway workers across Alberta will go on strike as of 12:01 AM on October 7, 2026 – the Wednesday before the Thanksgiving weekend.

The strike notice was formally delivered by two Safeway employees who represent different generations of the people who keep Alberta’s stores open and running.

Jean Ethier, a grocery clerk at Safeway’s Capilano store, has more than 50 years of service with the company. Jean started working on the night crew for just $1 an hour and has spent more than five decades serving Safeway customers. Alongside Jean was Cameron Hemenway, a cashier at Safeway Westbrook with two years of service. Cameron represents a newer generation of Safeway employees building their careers and working lives with the company.

“I was honoured to accompany these members at the bargaining table and assist them in their efforts to give strike notice to Sobeys,” said UFCW Local 401 President Thomas Hesse. “Jean represents more than 50 years of dedication to Safeway, while Cameron represents the new face of the workplace. Jean and Cameron come from different generations, but they are united by the same basic expectation: that the company they work for should negotiate a fair deal with the people who make its stores successful.”

This strike notice comes after nearly a year of bargaining with Safeway’s parent company, Sobeys. During this time, the company has failed to present Safeway workers with a comprehensive offer of settlement.

Safeway workers’ asks are not complicated or controversial. They are looking for fair wages, better benefits, job security, safer stores, and respect in the workplace.“Despite continued delays by the company and a refusal to discuss monetary items, our Bargaining Committee has come to the table, time and time again, hopeful that a settlement could be reached,” explained UFCW Local 401 President Thomas Hesse. “Safeway workers’ decision to take a strike vote last week and serve strike notice today was not done lightly. Our members felt that this was the last option available to finally get an offer out of Sobeys.”

Although strike notice has been served, UFCW Local 401 remains hopeful that this week’s round of bargaining meetings can produce a fair offer to Safeway workers that will avoid a strike. While 72 hours’ notice is required by law, Safeway workers’ move today gives Sobeys more than three weeks’ notice in an effort to urge the company to table an offer and avoid job action.

“Our Safeway members have been clear – they do not want to strike. What they want is a fair deal that meets their needs,” noted President Hesse. “If the company does the right thing and makes an offer, we will give our members an opportunity to vote on whether to accept the offer or commence a strike on October 7, 2026.”

While Safeway workers have not yet commenced a strike, Albertans are already recognizing what is at stake and expressing their support.

If a strike does occur on October 7, it would begin immediately before the Thanksgiving weekend, one of the busiest grocery-shopping periods of the year. Customers should start thinking now about alternative shopping plans. A strike could mean significant disruptions at Safeway stores, with empty shelves, longer checkout lines, and customers unable to find the Thanksgiving staples they need. No turkeys. No cranberry sauce. No seasonal items. None.

Customers could also encounter picket lines of angry and outraged employees at store entrances. If a strike occurs, customers will have a choice about where to do their grocery shopping. For Albertans who have not recently tried Real Canadian Superstore, now may be a good time to explore that alternative. Customers can compare prices, selection, and service for themselves and decide where they want to shop while Safeway workers are on the picket line.

The broader message from Safeway workers is simple: they want customers to understand that the people working in these stores are the reason those stores function every day.

“If Sobeys forces Safeway workers onto picket lines, customers are going to notice the difference,” continued Hesse. “These members are the people who stock the shelves, serve customers, work the checkouts and keep these stores running. They want to be at work serving their communities. They want Sobeys to give them a reason to stay at work.”

In a May survey, a majority of customers said they would not cross picket lines if they emerged outside Safeway stores across the province. An overwhelming majority of customers blamed Canadian grocers for high grocery prices, and over ten thousand expressed support for grocery workers in response to an ad campaign run by UFCW Local 401.

As part of the Alberta Federation of Labour, UFCW Local 401 is also asking the approximately 300,000 members of the Common Front alliance and their families for their support should a strike occur. 

The company still has a choice: sit down with its workers, put a fair offer on the table, and reach a deal, or it can force thousands of grocery workers onto the picket line.

Safeway workers remain clear: they would much rather settle this at the bargaining table than on picket lines across the province.

The timing of this dispute is particularly striking. While Safeway workers are being asked to wait for a meaningful offer at the bargaining table, Empire — Sobeys’ parent company — is reporting rising sales and profits. Empire’s latest results show $8.475 billion in sales, up 2.6% from the same quarter last year. Net earnings rose 9.9% to $233 million, compared with $212 million a year earlier. 

For more information about how negotiations reached this point and some of the key issues facing Safeway workers, please visit www.faircheckout.ca.

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Posted on: September 15,2026