PHOENIX -- A possible strike by workers at Safeway and Fry's in Arizona has been averted.
According to a news release, the United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 99, Safeway Stores and Kroger Company, the owner of Frys and Smiths, reached a tentative settlement on a new collective bargaining agreement late Thursday evening.
Local 99 will submit the tentative agreement to its Safeway, Frys and Smiths members with the unions recommendation that it be approved. The union and the companies have agreed to extend the existing contract pending the outcome of the membership vote.
There will be no work stoppage and all stores will continue to operate as normal.
No details of the tentative agreement will be disclosed until the members have an opportunity to review them and vote, the union said.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
johnk662561 said on November 13, 2009 at 7:20 AM
Well isn't this just lovely? People threaten to strike because they wanted "better" healthcare when there are THOUSANDS of workers out there who have NO HEALTHCARE and don't have a "Union" to try and force the issue. Fry's and Safeway should have gone ahead and gone out on strike so that the people who actually WANT and NEED jobs would have had the opportunity to make some money for the holidays. Once again, the whiners win and those who have been looking for a "subsistance wage" job get screwed again. Hope all you Fry's and Safeway Union Sheep have a really GREAT Christmas....because the people who were set to cover your jobs while you carried your little signs are going to be screwed for THEIR Christmas. Way to go. With any luck, your union will go ahead and strike between now and Christmas so those who actually want to work for MONEY instead of BENEFITS can have a little Christmas of their own.
fesov said on November 13, 2009 at 8:57 AM
Excuse me but you obviously are clueless to the situation! I have worked for Safeway for 28 years and enjoy my job. I have had 1 raise in the past 5 years! I do have excellent benifits but do you not feel I deserve them after 28 years of dedicated service to this company? And for your information...part of our fight is not for "BETTER" healthcare but for equally good healthcare for the young people that will be replacing my generation as we come of retirement age. The grocery business in the past was a great opportunity for people to make a life long carreer with middle class wages and decent benifits...if we don't fight to keep it that way it will become a "Taco Bell" job. I'm sorry if you are not educated enough to earn a SUBSTINATE wage but do not assume that we are doing this because we do not WANT and NEED to work...that is just being ignorant!
unionworker said on November 13, 2009 at 9:04 AM
There are those who would accept things as they are, content to sulk and grumble. Then there are those who would fight and sacrifice for something better for themselves and others. Our country exists in freedom because of this ideal, and hopefully future grocery workers will enjoy better benefits because of this. Hopefully the thousands who do not have a Union will be inspired to unite together. I am sorry, johnk and wish you and your family well. Keep applying and hopefully you can come work for MONEY and BENEFITS. I will continue to stand strong to try and secure them for you when your turn comes. Stand united, and Rock on UFCW99!!
foxfire said on November 13, 2009 at 10:02 AM
Yea it takes a real education to be a bag boy or check out clerk- I can see Johns anger- why would you strike a 5 dollar increase to your benefit pacakge- Your own members were striking your your own union! Im an old Union man and appreciate collective barganing, but to strike in an economy this stale is stupid. ANd in a right to work state with all the illegal aliens here to grab a job from an AMerican, makes it twice as stupid. Im happy for you guys you dodged a serious bullit
fesov said on November 13, 2009 at 10:25 AM
foxfire...you are not getting it!!!!! Safeway does not knowingly hire illegals nor does it take a highly educated person to perform most jobs in the grocery industry...that is the point! Less educated people have a chance at a middle class income existance! And typing, grammar and spelling are not always a requirement.
foxfire said on November 13, 2009 at 11:12 AM
fesov- the typos are on spelling are done on purpose, so I can laugh at those whu have to go there when cant win the argument..much like when illegals play the race card on immigration issues
1rushfan said on November 13, 2009 at 2:41 PM
I just cant understand what more you all want. With todays economy, you all should be grateful and thankful you even have a job. So what if you havent gotten a raise in however many years. there are countless people out there without a job right now, let alone any form of healthcare!!!! The future employees will be required to pay so little into their own healthcare coverage through Frys or Safeway, and its much, much less than what a lot of people pay elsewhere. Quit complaining and get back to work!!!!!
theprincess said on November 13, 2009 at 3:19 PM
This is what people who DON'T work in the grocery business are not understanding. It wasn't about the insurance. It was about the money. As in every situation where there is talk of a strike. It is all about the green! I have worked for Fry's for 8 years. I used to be on the last contract. And yes, my pay was $15 an hour. I left for 3 months while I was moving back to AZ from CO. I should have gone right back to Fry's but did not. Now, I am on the contract that we are currently in. I make $12 and hour! If I had to pay for my insurance on that wage for myself and family, I would not be able to provide. I was not able to go to college. I had to bury my Mother when I was 17. It really angers me when people try to say we are whiners. I haven't whined since I was little! I just wanted my fair share. My piece of the pie, so to speak. For those that were in the union and got out over this last year? I WISH they would at least acknowledge all the fighting done for them too.
finishblade10 said on November 13, 2009 at 3:27 PM
Ahhh. Isn't that sweet. The union CHILDREN got their wish. Too bad a union is still the biggest criminal activity known today. Have no fear though. They will once again show their greed and put up the cute little signs. I will continue to disrespect them and their case.
1rushfan said on November 13, 2009 at 3:35 PM
to theprincess, Im sorry about your mother and that you have not been able to go to college, but unlike MANY, MANY others, YOU have a job AND insurance. I understand that the strike isnt just about insurance, but youll only be getting about a 25 cent raise after so many hours of service each year. And, unfortunately, it is your fault for not going right back after you finished moving. I just dont see what you have to complain about. You have a job, you have insurance. Sure maybe its not the greatest, but you still have it. Ask anyone who doesnt have a job or insurance if they would take what you have or stay the way they are and I bet hands down they would gladly take what you have, no questions asked, right now. Maybe in the next couple of years if the economy brightens, then you will get more pay and better benefits, but right now these companies that employ you are doing everything they can to stay afloat.
1rushfan said on November 13, 2009 at 3:37 PM
And the new employees coming into Frys pay a very minimal cost to contribute to their coverage. Frys pays generously from the newsletters I have read.
finishblade10 said on November 13, 2009 at 3:51 PM
There is a myth here that people don't get. The unions only fight for you if they will benifit more. You are simply a token in the game. Why do you think they drive around in new Crown Victorias and redue the office at a minimum of once a year. ( Local 428 ) They always seem to come out on top even when the economy is as bad as it is now. Guess why....Give up yet? Your dues. You are forced to strike and even when out of work they have the guts to bug its members for thier dues. They don't care that you are on the out of work list or how long you have been on it. They just want the money. When I was out of work I was threatened with being suspended. Of coarse they added that I could not vote. ( like that matters ) If you are good enough at your job you don't need a union to keep your job. A union is mearly a wall to hide behind when you are wanting to blame someone else for your shortcomings. America does not need unions and I will gladly pass through a picket line anytime. Test me.
phatblazer said on November 13, 2009 at 4:00 PM
As long as Walmart is in the grocery business our pay will never be competitive. Ive been in the grocery business since 1985 and I havent gotten a raise since 1999. Coincidentally that was the same year Walmart started opening their Superstores. To be more competitive the other supermarkets had to freeze wage increases. I am an Asst meat manager for Frys and the cashiers make $1.50 less than me an hour and last I checked meat cutting is a trade. You dont just walk in off the street and become a meat cutter without at least 3000 cutting hours. I guess thats what happens when you let the grocery part of the store join the meat dept Union.
frenchvanilla said on November 13, 2009 at 5:55 PM
WE HAVE WORKED HARD FOR WHAT WE HAVE AND IF SOMEONE IS WANTING TO TAKE IT AWAY WE ARE GOING TO FIGHT FOR IT.......PEOPLE CANT BE MAD AT THAT.....WE KNOW THAT THERE ARE LOTS OF PEOPLE WITH OUT JOBS AND HEALTHCARE ...SO WHY GET MAD IF WERE JUST TRYING TO SECURE THAT FOR FUTURE HIRES?
eddrmae said on November 13, 2009 at 9:46 PM
ALL OF YOU ARE MISSING THE POINT...THE UNION CHOOSES TO ACCEPT OR STIKE...THE EMPLOYEES OF THE COMPANY, FOR THE MOST PART, WEREN'T GIVEN A CHOICE...MOST OF THEM WANTED THE UNION TO ACCEPT, BUT THEY DON'T GET A CHOICE AND PART OF BEING IN THE UNION IS SUPPORTING, AS BEST AS YOU CAN, THE DECISIONS THAT THE UNION MAKES...EVEN IF IT MEANS STRIKING WHEN YOU DON'T WANT TO. ALL OF YOU OUT THERE THAT REALLY BELIEVE THAT ANY EMPLOYEE IN THIS ECONOMY AND TIME OF YEAR WANTS TO STIKE FOR ANY REASON ARE CRAZY...PERHAPS ALL OF YOU SHOULDN'T WEIGH IN YOUR OPINIONS ON SOMETHING THAT YOU ARE NOT PART OF TO BEGIN WITH...AFTER ALL WHERE YOU THERE? NO, SO YOU ARE ONLY AWARE OF SOME OF THE DETAILS...AND DEFINATELY NOT ENOUGH TO FORMULATE AN EDUCATED OPINION OF HOW THE EMPLOYEES SHOULD REACT.
shelby59 said on November 14, 2009 at 12:23 PM
When the Union first approached the Fry's and Safeway employees about a strike, the decision to allow the Union to strike was given a yes vote by their members. The Union and the two stores did go back and forth with one another in trying to reach some agreement. This type of negotiation is not that uncommon in Union/Store contracts, or in other cases where the Union is trying to negotiate an new contract. In this state where it is a right to work state, the Union does not hold as much power or favor as apposed to other states where the union is stronger. As to the comments made by johnk662561, I am sorry that he was looking to benefit from a possible strike, but to let you know that once this agreement has been signed there will not be another talk of a possible strike until this contact has expired, which would be in about three years. Since the Union has made the recommendation to agree with this proposal, the members will agree too.
johnk662561 said on November 14, 2009 at 3:18 PM
*I* already have a job. It was my WIFE who was looking to make a little extra for the holidays. As for those of you who are whining about not getting a raise in X number of years...that's your own fault. If you aren't willing to ASK for a raise from your bosses, certainly they aren't going to give you one! And that BS about raises being "frozen" because of Wal-Mart is just an excuse. Of course, if you're making between 12 and 15 bucks an hour for bagging groceries or running a cash register PLUS getting a healthcare package, maybe you'd be ashamed to ask for a raise. I know *I* would be. If you can't live on 15 bucks an hour on a 40 hour work week then you must be living above your means. And if you're NOT getting 40 hours and "need" money, ask for more hours. If you've got a union and they aren't willing to help you get a raise that you may or may not deserve or aren't willing to help you get more hours, then why in God's name are you throwing your money away on "Union Dues"??
shelby59 said on November 15, 2009 at 12:21 AM
Just to answer a couple of questions raised by johnk662561, The first about asking for a raise, in a union situation you do not ask for a raise, the raises are negotiated through your contract, sometimes this happens, sometimes not. Sometimes you forgo a raise to keep benefits or perhaps keep certain holidays or whatever else is of value that you would much rather keep than getting a raise. Not everyone is making 12-15 dollars an hour at the store, there are different wages for different positions. As for working a 40 hour work week, that is rare, there are very few full time positions, most are 20 hours and depending on your position those hours can even be less. The wonderful world of retail, has more ups than downs, you can ask for all the hours you want, does not mean you are going to get them. The hours are based off the amount of money that was made in the store from the previous year. There is a lot behind the scenes of running a store, which most people are clueless about.
sportsmanaz said on November 15, 2009 at 8:35 AM
This is something that a worker from another job wouldnt understand. It took an act of the Arizona Leg. to get us mim. wage earners a raise that we thought we'd never see. Since then id gotten two more smaller wage increases. It seems only fair that us Courtesy Clerks be paid 8.00 hr!