Purchasing at Safeway may imply crossing a picket line in Northern California this weekend. 1000’s of Safeway employees are poised to go on strike Saturday, if the corporate and native unions don’t attain a labor settlement Friday night.
“If there’s no deal by midnight Friday, July 25, we’re ready to strike. This fight is about dignity and respect for the workers who kept our communities going,” the United Meals and Industrial Employees Worldwide Union, Native 5, posted on Instagram.
Union delegates representing some 25,000 grocery employees throughout the area spent “24 hours of nonstop bargaining” with Safeway this week, however are “still waiting for a fair offer,” the union added. If a strike does happen, it might have an effect on greater than 200 Safeway shops throughout Northern California.
The unions are asking for higher wages, improved healthcare choices and retirement safety. They’ve been bargaining for nearly half a yr with Safeway, which is headquartered in Pleasanton. A federal mediator was lately referred to as in to help the negotiations, with out a lot obvious impact.
“The company clearly had no interest in addressing the issues important to our hardworking Safeway members in the high-cost-of-living Northern California,” the Native 5 union stated in a press release.
In preparation for attainable strikes, the union held two picket strains this month exterior of Safeway shops, one in Nice Hill, one other in Burlingame.
A union spokesperson didn’t return a request to touch upon Friday in regards to the state of the negotiations. However Safeway, a subsidiary of American grocery big Albertsons, indicated on Friday afternoon that no settlement had been struck.
Safeway is “working diligently to balance the needs of our associates and customers” and “ensure the long-term sustainability of our business in a highly competitive grocery industry,” the spokesperson added.
Within the lead-up to a attainable work stoppage, Safeway has reportedly been in search of to rent substitute employees for hourly wages increased than a lot of the firm’s employees, KQED reported on Friday.
Union spokesperson Jim Araby informed the media outlet that “members feel like it was a massive slap in the face. It’s definitely influenced our members to want to go out on strike.”
Initially Revealed: July 25, 2025 at 4:15 PM PDT
