New Safeway Offer of Settlement
Strong Strike Mandate and Mediator Assistance Produce New Offer of Settlement
In keeping with your union’s continued efforts to make sure you have all the information you need, and your contract negotiations are transparent, we are providing you with the company’s full contract offer of settlement. After reviewing the document, please feel free to contact the union office, we would be happy to answer any questions. Continue to watch for additional information over the coming days; we will be sending out further updates to explain and expand on the language attached.
Additionally, we will be conducting three telephone town hall meetings and conduct the most inclusive ratification vote Safeway members have ever had.
It’s important to highlight not just what you won, but also what you prevented the company from taking away from you. As you know from previous updates, there were a number of concessions the company was seeking. They sought to reduce overtime, premiums and statutory holiday pay provisions; delete WCB and weekly indemnity tops; reduce your opportunity for full-time jobs; and remove pharmacy technicians from having union protection. The list is long and showed just how little they think of you. These were all fought off thanks to everyone’s strength and collective voice.
What’s in the Contract Offer of Settlement?
The first of the two documents reflect what the company has agreed to offer you.
This document includes all agreed to language, including the mediator’s recommendations for settlement on the six items the parties were at impasse over. We have broken it down into two columns. On the left you will see what the company was asking to change or take away; on the right you will see what you won or fended off.
Because this is a full summary of all agreed to changes to the Collective Agreement, where you see a blank spot on either side, it means either the union or the company did not have a proposal, but new language or changes to the contract was negotiated.
Despite Sobeys seeking many takeaways, your union bargaining committee pushed back hard, and with your strong 79% strike vote and the assistance of the mediator, we were able to achieve many improvements and avoid many takeaways.
You can access the complete summary HERE
The second document contains all the letters of understanding that have been agreed to, renewed, or amended. This document also details which letters of understanding have been moved into the body of the Collective Agreement. These items are no longer up for renewal with each new round of negotiations, further insulating these protections for the long-term.
You can access your letters of understanding summary HERE
Time for Explanation and Discussion
There is a lot to take in, so we strongly encourage you to join us on one of the telephone town hall meetings next week to hear a more in-depth explanation of these important changes. You will also be able to ask your questions. Again, if you have questions prior to the telephone town hall meetings, please contact your Union Labour Relations Officer at 1.800.252.7975 and they will be happy to assist. Otherwise, please join us on either July 29 at 7 PM; July 30 at 7 PM; or July 31 at 11 AM. You’ll receive an email soon with all the details for those meetings.
Voting Information Reminder
Your voice matters – your vote matters! We are looking forward to seeing you out to vote. Please remember that you can vote at any location during the set-out times. You access your voting dates and times calendar HERE
Posted on: July 22,2020