Safeway will pay millions to top-rated and overscale employees!
Local 401 pressure yields important results
“There’s a reason you have a union, and it’s important to be reminded of it,” says President Thomas Hesse of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 401.“I am committed. Our Secretary-Treasurer is committed. And Local 401 is committed to standing up for working people. We will grind, argue, persuade, coax, air TV commercials, launch campaigns, and work with other unions… It doesn’t matter how long it takes. It is our job to speak truth to power and hold corporations accountable.”
Our success at the Court of Appeal, a year after Sobeys attacked your wages, is a powerful reminder of the value of unions, <<First Name>>.
Nothing like this happens at a Walmart, Zellers, or a non-union Sobeys store.
It is also important to congratulate Safeway workers and union members themselves.
There will always be naysayers, keyboard heroes, and some wannabe lawyers. But overall, our Safeway membership has kept the faith. They understand that a union is only as strong as the support it receives from its members.
Safeway has now confirmed in writing that wages for top-rated and overscale employees will increase in the coming days, and that retroactive pay will be provided. Please keep an eye on your paycheques and advise us if anything seems incorrect. We will fix it.
Safeway has recently announced through internal communications that they will increase wages and pay what is owed. Unfortunately, we are still left to wonder whether Sobeys can effectively manage the Safeway business. In their communications, they continue to discuss store conversions and closures.
Instead of presenting this outcome positively, they seem unable to resist threatening language.
Business analysts agree that Sobeys did a poor job taking over Safeway. Recently, they took a multimillion-dollar write-down for their failed Voilà business. They continue to make questionable business decisions.
If you watch the Winter Olympics, you will see that Sobeys is the official grocer of the Canadian Olympic Team. Many may question whether this is a wise use of time and money. Will it attract a single new customer? At a time when Albertans are struggling to afford groceries, does an association with skiing in the Italian Alps bring working families into stores?
“There’s still work to be done, and we must continue in the spirit of solidarity,” says President Hesse. “The Court of Appeal victory should give us confidence, and it does. Local 401 is a fighting union, and we win many fights. But this victory does not solve all of our problems.”
Will there be a wage increase over the next four years? Not without a strike vote.
Will there be economic improvements for junior workers? Not without a strike vote.
Will there be job security? Not without a strike vote.
Local 401 can advance certain issues through its expertise and legal team. But unless members are prepared to stand together, including the possibility of withholding their labour, there is no meaningful way to compel Sobeys to take these demands seriously.
As Local 401 Secretary Treasurer, Richelle Stewart, puts it: “When we stand together, we win. This result proves that solidarity works, and we’re not done yet.”
Posted on: February 17,2026