Ready to bargain with Safeway
Local 401 has now served a notice to commence bargaining on the Sobeys Corporation.
The notice to commence bargaining triggers a legal requirement for Sobeys to come to the bargaining table and seek to negotiate a new contract impacting Safeway employees.
Click here to see the Notice to Bargain.
Under the law, Sobeys is required to bargain in good faith and make every reasonable effort to conclude a collective agreement. Unlike the circumstances before Christmas, when we were still locked into a contract, this new round of bargaining will include the legal right to take a strike vote. It also includes the right to actually strike, if that becomes necessary.
“Sobeys’ bosses need to deal with the elephant in the room,” says President Thomas Hesse. “They have betrayed the trust of Safeway employees. Their customers have lost trust in them, as well. They need to fix those issues.”
Will Sobeys address the elephant in the room?
It is important to note that no strike can occur unless Safeway employees vote in favour of that strike via an Alberta Labour Relations Board-supervised strike vote.
Local 401 is going to work very hard to find a balanced approach to bargaining. The challenge is to make a good deal that meets the basic needs and wants of Safeway employees while also avoiding a strike or a lockout.
A strike is always a last resort. Your union is committed to being strong, but also to being smart. We will bargain in good faith, in a measured and tempered way.
As we have said in the past, we will not go to bargaining on our knees. We must bargain from a position of strength and leverage. We must “walk softly and carry a big stick”.
We have developed and launched a television ad campaign to remind Sobeys that our members and their customers are entitled to know the truth.
Click here or on the image above to watch our new television ad.
Your relationship with Sobeys is an employment relationship. But Sobeys is also a corporate citizen, with a responsibility to its customers and the public.
Safeway stores and Safeway workers are part of the community. They are more than a business. The pandemic reminded us that grocery stores are public places.
“The Sobeys Family talks about nurturing other families,” says Secretary Treasurer Richelle Stewart. “But they’ve been doing the exact opposite by hurting their own employees.”
“They need to stop and make things right for Safeway workers and their families,” adds Stewart.
The Sobeys Family, reportedly worth almost $4.5 billion.
We have been reminded that grocery store workers are essential. We also know that Sobeys is the purveyor of food, one of life’s basic necessities.
As our ad notes, Sobeys has a history of making questionable business decisions.
Click here to read what the Financial Post had to say about Sobeys’ purchase of Safeway.
Academics and labour relations professionals have also criticized Sobeys for the manner in which they conducted themselves in the early negotiations that occurred before Christmas.
“With Michael Medline’s retirement, we will be looking to meet with the new CEO of Sobeys,” notes Hesse. “We are hopeful that the new CEO will show a new sensitivity to the Company’s thousands of Alberta employees and stop the Donald Trump style of negotiation they have pursued to date.”
“Take it or leave it does not work for the morale and mental health of hardworking Safeway employees,” concludes Hesse.
President Thomas Hesse addresses hundreds of labour activists about the challenges faced by Safeway workers in Alberta, asking them to cut up their Costco cards to shop union at Safeway, but also be prepared to boycott if a strike becomes necessary.
Your union is committed to approaching bargaining with a sensible and balanced approach. We firmly believe that the approach Sobeys has used thus far has been out of balance.
We urge Sobeys to come to the bargaining table with a new and fresh perspective. Surely, they can find a way to be fair in responding to the real needs of their employees during the affordability crisis and these uncertain times.
Your union will continue pushing them to do so.
Posted on: May 20,2025