Union launches television ad campaign to kick off major bargaining cycle
As Safeway workers fight back, Superstore, Cargill, Olymel, and JBS members are paying attention
The last few years have not been easy for Local 401 members. We all struggled through the pandemic and the incredible challenges it presented.
You may recall how vocal your union was as COVID-19 turned our lives upside down. UFCW Local 401 was a leading voice demanding safety measures for workers who couldn’t work from home, like most of our members.
We fought for Cargill workers after their High River Plant became the site of the largest workplace outbreak in North America. A year later, we waged that same battle outside Olymel’s Red Deer Plant when Company complacency resulted in an outbreak at that workplace.
President Hesse and Secretary Treasurer Stewart outside Cargill fighting for fairness in the freezing cold.
Your union called for safety measures like customer counts, distancing, and plexiglass when Superstore and Safeway seemed to want to look the other way. And we decried the callousness of taking away hero pay just months after it was instituted.
Just as it felt like we were starting to get a grip on the global health crisis, we all found ourselves plunged into a new terrifying reality: the affordability crisis.
Again, your union has been on the frontlines, pushing employers to stop the squeeze we’re all feeling and make life more affordable for you amidst forty-year-high inflation and the skyrocketing cost of living.
Click the image above to watch our new television ad.
It’s time to fight for fairness at all workplaces
Your union has launched a television advertising campaign to bring the story of Safeway workers to the public.
While this campaign focuses on Safeway members, every employer with whom we negotiate is watching to see whether we mean what we say when we talk about preparing for the most aggressive bargaining we have ever coordinated.
Let’s be clear: we mean every word and have the resolve to follow through on them.
“We have launched a television ad campaign to speak truth to power,” says UFCW Local 401 President Thomas Hesse. “We believe that Safeway’s profits are so high that they are alienating both customers and their employees.”
“But Safeway isn’t alone. Many employers are making lots of money while their employees are struggling,” adds Hesse. “Let this ad campaign serve as a message that our members expect fair offers during bargaining to help them make ends meet. Employers who refuse to do the right thing will have their greed exposed.”
It is worth noting that your union’s television ad does not call for a boycott of Safeway. If you shop at Safeway, please take a moment to speak to the folks who work there, hear their story, and express your support.
“There is nothing that can stop Local 401 members when we stand together,” says Secretary Treasurer Richelle Stewart. “The employers we’re fighting are big. But worker strength and solidarity are bigger.”
The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms protects the freedom of expression. It is your union’s job to bring the case of Safeway employees to the public eye. And we will launch similar campaigns for other members if necessary.
“There is a sign on the door to our union office,” adds Stewart. “It reads ‘a voice for working Alberta’. Fighting to amplify that voice is who we are and what we do as a union. And we will keep amplifying the voice of our members no matter what.”
Watch for our new television ad airing across the province. Or click the image below to watch the ad on You Tube.
Click the image above to watch our new television ad.
Posted on: January 06,2025