Safeway workers and the parent company, Albertsons, reached a tentative agreement on July 4 to end the three-week old strike.
According to the agreement, the picket lines must be pulled down today. The agreement, which must be voted on by union membership, includes fully funded healthcare and pension benefits, wage increases, seniority bonuses, and other provisions including improved dental and vision benefits, and an increase in life insurance benefits under the health plan over the cycle of the contract.
Other provisions of the agreement include “a new test-and-learn trial to study real and meaningful staffing improvements in the stores, no giveaways of bargaining unit work to gig companies like DoorDash, a full reset of attendance points, and expanded vacation cash-out.” No date has been set for the ratification vote.
The company has also agreed to terminate all temporary replacement workers. Striking workers are guaranteed to be returned to their same position, classification, seniority, and hire date. All striking workers must return to work by Monday, July 7.
The strike, which began on June 15, involved more than 40 stores across Colorado, including the Estes Park store, and a meat distribution center located in Denver, was focused on what the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7 described as “unfair labor practices.”
The deal to end the strike came two days after workers at King Soopers and City Market reached a similar deal with Kroger.
Over the course of the past three weeks, striking employees encouraged shoppers to buy their groceries at Country Market, a locally owned supermarket owned and operated by the Webermeier family since 1978.