UFCW 1518 prepares membership for potential strike as negotiations percolate with Canada Safeway

Contract Negotiations with Empire Foods/Sobey's the parent company of
Canada Safeway will resume next month with a potential for a spike
vote to come that month as well

The fall may bring a picket line to the local Canada Safeway in Prince Rupert, that as UFCW 1518 prepares to take the pulse of its membership as they look to resume negotiations with parent company Sobeys.

The current state of negotiations highlights the frustration with Sobey's management of the commercial workers union leadership, that as over eight months of on again, off again talks have served to not deliver much movement from the employer on a range of union issues. 

The most recent update for members, which was released on August 18th provided a snapshot of the lack of momentum towards a negotiated settlement to this point.

According to the UFCW, Sobey's hasn't had much to offer in those eight months.

While the August negotiation sessions were cancelled, employer and union are expected to resume their talks in September. But before they do, the UFCW is taking the pulse of the membership towards a potential strike vote.

Towards that, the union has provided for some extensive reading towards areas related to any potential withdrawal of labour. 

The answers and guidance towards those topics can be reviewed here.

The percolating labour issues with Canada Safeway are ramping up just after a ratification vote towards more successful negotiations with Save On Foods took place.

Earlier this week UFCW 1518 outlined the successful outcome to the tentative deal that was reached with Save On Foods in late June.

As the union notes, the Save On Foods contract has raised the bar for labour settlements, whether Sobey's/Canada Safeway will come to that new standard likely will make for the scope of the fall negotiations ahead.

Sobey's a subsidiary of Empire Foods which operates a range of grocery chains from East Coast to West, has yet to issue any form of official statement towards the current negotiations in British Columbia.

More notes on the Northwest Commercial sector can be explored here.