We hate to say we told you so… but we told you so!

Alberta Court of Appeal rules in favour of your union and restores arbitrators’ wage reopener decision.

Your union has said it repeatedly. Talk is cheap, and there is nothing cheaper than Safeway Talks.

We won a wage increase for senior Safeway employees in a wage reopener arbitration. The arbitrator’s decision was well-reasoned and well-explained.

In fact, the Court of Appeal’s decision says that, “The arbitrator’s interpretation of [the union contract] and her general analytic approach was reasonable.”

The Court of Appeal decision goes on to say that Arbitrator Mia Norrie, “understood her task,” and “clearly expressed that [the union contract] required her to ‘take into consideration the economic and competitive climate of the Employer’s business, and the interests raised in 2020 bargaining’. She went on to structure her analysis around these three factors, engaging extensively  with the parties’ submissions on each of them.”

In short, Arbitrator Mia Norrie knew what she was doing in 2023 and did her job well.

Sobeys then got in front of a conservative judge who used defective reasoning to overturn that decision.

In fact, it is almost one year to the day that Sobeys used the judge’s flawed decision to begin clawing wages back, an action that lawyers and professors who are experts in labour relations described as beyond the pale and reprehensible.

Your union immediately went to the highest court in Alberta to challenge that judge’s ruling and make sure that justice was done and the truth came out.

Today, we won.

The Court of Appeal decision is definitive about the arguments your union and our lawyers made against the faulty nature of Sobeys’ reasoning and the conservative judge’s ruling, saying:

“The arbitrator considered and explained why she accorded each piece of evidence the weight that she did. Considering her cogent and thorough reasons for decision, [Sobeys’] argument boils down to a request for this Court to reweigh the evidence and adopt their preferred outcome. That is simply not our role, nor was it the role of the chambers judge, who erred by doing precisely that.”

Put another way, the Alberta Court of Appeal says that the conservative judge made a mistake. We thank the Alberta Court of Appeal, the highest court in Alberta, for its wisdom and sensibility in seeing this circumstance clearly.

Each province has a court of appeal to ensure that, at the end of the day, the best judgment and the wisest eyes are brought to bear on complex situations.

Click here to see the Alberta Court of Appeal Decision issued today.

What will happen now?

The Court’s decision came out earlier today, and your union and our lawyers are studying the ruling. We believe this means Sobeys must repay senior Safeway employees the money they took away, both immediately and retroactively.

But we worry that Nova Scotia-based billionaire Sobeys Family will ignore or try to fight the Alberta Court of Appeal. Sobeys does not seem to know how to respect their Alberta workers or Alberta customers.

We urge Sobeys to approach this decision responsibly and to back down. Local 401 wants to conclude a fair contract with Sobeys, and it would be helpful at this point to de-escalate this situation.

We believe Sobeys’ options are limited.

The next level of court to which Sobeys would appeal is the Supreme Court of Canada. In order to take this issue to that court, Sobeys will have to seek permission from the Supreme Court itself. Sobeys might also apply for some sort of stay. Again, we hope that Sobeys will respect this decision.

We hope that Sobeys will respect this decision. But given their behaviour since the purchase of Safeway, we worry their arrogance will result in failing to respect the highest court in Alberta, along with their Alberta workers and customers.

We will advise you as this matter plays out. But as Local 401 members, you should feel vindicated and encouraged.

Ask your store manager when Sobeys is going to give you the money back that they took from you during a time when the affordability crisis is making it nearly impossible to pay your bills. 

You and your union make valid arguments, and we took the high road when it came to representing and fighting for workers’ rights.

Hey, Sobeys. We hate to say we told you so, but we told you so!

Strike vote coming soon!

At the end of the day, even if the arbitrator’s wage decision is now implemented, there are all sorts of outstanding bargaining issues that we still need to fight for:

• What about wage increases for in-scale employees?
• What about wage increases for all employees over the next few years?
• What about job security?
• What about benefits?

If the wage increases won in 2023 are restored, we still need to look to the future.

What is Sobeys going to do with the Safeway business in Alberta? Is there a path forward where we can find common ground where Sobeys is motivated to commit to the business, and workers receive a fair deal for their work?

Click here to take our strike vote timing survey.

Take a moment to celebrate

“Special congratulations to Safeway workers and Local 401 union members,” says UFCW 401 President Thomas Hesse.

“Not everyone was an armchair critic or a pretend-to-be-lawyer on this issue. Many embraced the wisdom and leadership of Local 401 and its legal team, keeping the faith,” continues Hesse.

“This decision will not create a new union contract,” adds Secretary Treasurer Richelle Stewart. “But it offers hope and will surely instill confidence that having a union can make a real difference.”

“Together, we really can build better workplaces and a better world,” conclude Hesse and Stewart. “We will continue to hold Sobeys and all employers accountable.”

Posted on: February 12,2026