UFCW, Safeway talk nonstop as contract deadline nears

With the current contract scheduled to expire at midnight Dec. 1, negotiations are continuing around the clock between Safeway Inc., the Pleasanton-based supermarket giant, and the United Food & Commercial Workers union.
Negotiators said some progress has been made in the contract talks, but there still remains a wide disparity on "economics" issues.
Safeway (NYSE: SWY) employs about 25,000 workers represented by four UFCW locals throughout Northern California.
If no agreement is reached, UFCW members may begin voting as early as this weekend to authorize a strike against Safeway. If workers vote to do so, a walkout against Safeway could begin shortly after the vote is tallied.
Negotiators could also decide to extend the current three-year contract so talks can continue.
The strike threat would involve only Safeway, since UFCW negotiators have already reached agreement on a new four-year contract with Raley's Inc., the West Sacramento-based company that operates Raley's and Nob Hill Foods supermarkets in the Bay Area; and Save Mart Supermarkets of Modesto, which operates Lucky and Save Mart stores throughout the region.
"Both parties are bargaining in earnest and are working hard to achieve an agreement before the contract expires," Ron Lind, president of UFCW Local 5, said in a statement also issued by his fellow UFCW local presidents throughout the region.
UFCW Local 5 represents unionized supermarket employees in Alameda, Contra Costa, Solano and Santa Clara counties, along with several neighboring counties in the Bay Area and Monterey Bay region.
credited by: bizjournals.com