Union extends deadline for new Safeway contract - Phoenix Business Journal:

grachevakautawil.blogspot.com
The extension was announced late Thursday by the Unitefd Food and Commercial Workers UnionLocal No. 7, which represents about 17,000 Denver-area grocery workers now negotiatinbg new contractswith Safeway, Albertson’s and . It is the thirde extension in theSafeway talks, which begaj in early April. Safeway workers voted last month to call for a strikif necessary, but neither side has indicatesd that a strike is likely in the near future. Both Albertson’s and King Sooperes workers are operating withouf contractsright now. Negotiations centeer around the issues of pension benefitsand health-care plans.
Safewaty and King Soopers have offeredpension cuts, pay raises for just a portiom of the workers and new preventative health-care saying that with the rise of non-union groceryh stores, some cutbacks must be made. “o think this [latest extension] gives us an opportunityu to continue to negotiatew and really be able to tackld the tough issues like wages andpensiobn benefits,” said Kris Staaf, Safeway’s Denver-area directof of public affairs. The latest counter-proposalo from Safeway workers calls for annual pay increases of 75 centx per hour over the duration ofthe five-year according to UFCW spokeswoman Laura Chapin.
It also seekds assurances that workers can continue receiving pensiob benefits at age 50 rather than havingg to wait untilage 62, that currengt health benefits are not decreased and that current health-carre premiums are not increased. Safeway has not made a new contrac proposal, Staaf said. Sherree Carlson, a 15-year Safeway employeew from Westminster, expressed frustration over the pace of negotiations in a news releasee put out bythe “We gave you a proposal a week ago, and you keep comin back at us with the same crumbs,” Carlson “We need a fair deal and we need to keep the work and the workeres here in our community.
”