Safeway grocery workers strike averted in California after agreement reached
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Safeway and Albertsons reached a tentative labor deal, averting a major strike.
- Agreement includes raises, job protections, and retirement and health care gains.
- Deal ends five-month negotiation as Albertsons faces fallout from failed Kroger merger.
A planned strike by thousands of Safeway grocery workers was avoided Sunday as the company and its parent reached a new labor agreement.
The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union Local 8, as well as Locals 5 and 648, announced a tentative agreement early Sunday with Albertsons Companies, the parent company of Safeway.
The agreement delivers wage increases, stronger job protection and improved retirement and health care plans for 25,000 grocery workers from the Grapevine to the Oregon border, according to union leadership.
Before an agreement was reached, grocery workers across Northern and Central California prepared to strike starting on Saturday at 12:01 a.m. Union officials Saturday morning announced that the deadline for an agreement had been extended and delayed the proposed strike by 24 hours to Sunday at 12:01 a.m.
By early Sunday morning, union leadership announced that an agreement had been reached after five months of negotiations.
“We’re deeply grateful to the customers we serve for their unwavering support,” said UFCW 8 president Jacques Loveall in a statement. “Your encouragement gave our members strength, resolve and the confidence to stand united.”
The agreement comes as Albertsons navigates a failed merger with Kroger. In October 2022, Kroger proposed acquiring Albertsons for $24.6 billion, combining two of the country’s largest grocery chains, but labor unions, consumer advocates and regulators immediately pushed against the plan.
Opponents warned the consolidation would reduce competition and raise grocery prices, and the plan was challenged by the Federal Trade Commission as well as multiple state attorneys general. In December 2024, a federal judge blocked the merger.
Albertsons acquired Safeway in 2015, and now operates 2,200 locations across 34 states. There are 243 Safeway stores in California, including dozens in the capital region.