Giant & Safeway Workers Overwhelmingly Approve Deal
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)Giant and Safeway
members voted overwhelmingly
yesterday to ratify a
new, three-year collective bargaining agreement that preserves their health and
retirement security and increases wages. "This is one of the best retail
food contracts in the country," said Local 400 President Mark P. Federici.
"Our members will keep their current health care benefits, Giant and
Safeway will pay all benefits in full through the life of the contract and our
members' pensions will be properly funded.” In addition, the new agreement
“increases our members' standard of living,” Federici said, “and it's one
of
the few contracts in the country providing all of its economic benefits in the
form of hourly wage increases rather than a one-time bonus." A “sustained
campaign of member activism” was credited for the win. “We told the
companies we are strong,” said Maria Gomez, a member of the Bargaining
Advisory
Committee who works at Giant #799. “We told them we are ready to fight. And
that is what made the difference.”