New poll data shows Alberta Safeway employees vote in favour of strike action

A majority of Safeway employees voted in favour of authorizing a strike if a fair collective agreement cannot be achieved, data released by UFCW Local 401 on Saturday shows.

Ahead of returning to the bargaining table next week, polls in Calgary saw 87 per cent voting in favour of striking, more than 90 per cent in Edmonton, and more than 95 per cent in other Alberta cities, the release said.

Vote strike results for bargaining units for different areas in Safeway stores saw retail vote 86 per cent in favour, meat southern 93 per cent in favour, and meat north 90 per cent in favour.

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Safeway employees are seeking wages in line with inflation, better benefits, improved job security and safer stores, something their members have spoken clearly about, said president Thomas Hesse.

“They want a fair agreement that allows them to support their families and recognizes the value of the work they do every day,” Hesse said. “They want to be able to afford the food they stock on the shelves, to work in safe stores and to know they have job security moving forward.”

Around 10,000 customers support grocery store workers through the union’s Fair Checkout campaign website .

Additional polling by Envirionics found that a majority of customers who were surveyed said they would not cross the picketing line, the release said.

The data also found that more than half of respondents believed that grocery store workers are underpaid and a majority blame Canadian grocers for high prices on the shelves.

This could result in customers taking their business elsewhere and hurting Safeway’s operation if workers head to the picket line, Hesse said.

“If Sobeys forces Safeway workers onto the picket line, customers are going to notice the difference,” Hesse said. “They could be walking into empty shelves, older produce, longer checkout lines and higher prices. At that point, customers have a choice: they can take their grocery business somewhere else. We haven’t even hit the streets yet, and they’re already showing us they’re prepared to stand with these workers.”

Their membership is not looking to strike and would rather work to serve customers, Hesse said.

“But Sobeys needs to understand what is at stake,” he said. “When customers see angry workers standing outside their local Safeway, we expect many of them will stay away.”