Making ends meet isn’t easy.
for customers. for safeway workers. for any of us.
MAKING ENDS MEET ISN’T EASY. FOR CUSTOMERS. FOR WORKERS. FOR ALL OF US.
Safeway workers will vote September 8–11 on whether to authorize a strike. After a year of bargaining, Safeway has not made an offer to workers.
Safeway employees are asking for a fair deal at a time when many families are feeling the squeeze.
THESE WORKERS TAKE PRIDE IN THE JOB THEY DO.
Without the people who stock the shelves, serve customers, prepare orders, and keep stores running, there would be no Safeway.
These workers are an essential part of our communities. They deserve to be respected, valued, and able to make ends meet.
WE ALL FEEL THE SQUEEZE
Customers are feeling the challenges of the affordability crisis just like grocery workers. Making a paycheque stretch through the month is tough for everyone.
The cost of everyday essentials has made it harder for families across Alberta to get by.
Safeway workers are feeling that same pressure.
In fact, many of the people who work in our grocery stores say they can’t afford to shop where they work.
That’s not right.
THE BACKGROUND: MORE THAN A YEAR FIGHTING FOR A FAIR DEAL
Approximately 7,000 Safeway workers across Alberta have been waiting for a new contract since their previous agreement expired in August 2025.
Safeway workers have been trying to negotiate a new contract with the Company. But negotiations have been difficult.
WHAT WORKERS HAVE FACED
In 2024, after their union successfully won badly needed wage increases, approximately half of Safeway workers received 10% in wage increases: 5% in 2023 and 5% in 2024. Sobeys later clawed those increases back by 6.5% after what many saw as a flawed decision by a judge.
For workers, this wasn’t simply a disagreement over numbers.
These were wages they had already earned and relied on, money that had already gone toward rent, mortgages, groceries, bills and supporting their families.
Having earned wages clawed back added to a growing sense among workers that they were being asked to give more, even as the cost of living continued to rise.
UFCW Local 401 fought back through the Court of Appeal and successfully restored the wage increases for workers. Sobeys has now sought leave to appeal that decision to the Supreme Court of Canada, meaning the fight over these wages is not over yet.
For workers, this has become much bigger than a single pay increase. It’s about fairness. It’s about respect. And it’s about whether the people who keep Safeway stores running can count on the wages they earn.
WHEN BARGAINING STALLED, WORKERS TURNED TO MEDIATION
After months of negotiations without a deal, bargaining reached an impasse. UFCW Local 401 applied for mediation in an effort to help move the negotiations forward. Mediation has now ended. There is still no tentative agreement.
The bargaining team is scheduled to meet with the employer for another round of negotiations September 15–17.
Workers want their bargaining team to enter those negotiations with a clear mandate from the membership.
93% SAID THEY WERE READY TO TAKE THE NEXT STEP
At a virtual town hall in early June, members were asked whether they supported holding a strike vote if mediation ended without a fair outcome.
93% of attendees voted in favour. The bargaining team is now moving forward with that decision. Safeway workers will vote September 8–11 on whether to authorize a strike. A strike authorization vote does not mean that a strike will automatically happen. It means workers are giving their bargaining team the authority to take further action if a fair agreement cannot be reached.
STAND WITH SAFEWAY WORKERS
You don’t have to work at Safeway to understand what these workers are fighting for. You just have to look at your bills. We all feel the squeeze. The people who keep our grocery stores running should be able to afford to make ends meet every month. They should be able to support their families. And they deserve a fair deal.
If Safeway workers do go on strike, we ask all Albertans to respect the picket lines and refrain from shopping at Safeway until the strike action ends.
MEDIA CONTACT
For media inquiries, interviews or additional information, please contact:
Scott Payne
Director of Communications
UFCW Local 401
587-337-0004
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