UFCW 401 has recently launched a campaign against the Company and the Sobeys brand. It’s unfortunate to see that the Union continues to lack focus on what matters most – bargaining for the future of Safeway. These public stunts are unproductive and only stand to hurt us all.

While the union is investing their time in non-productive campaigns that seek to damage our brand and negatively impact our sales, we remain focused on securing a strong future for Safeway and introducing FreshCo to the Alberta market.

You can see through our remodel and expansion of the Beltline Safeway store, show-and-sell plans, and commitment to local suppliers that we are putting the right plans in place to ensure our employees and our stores are positioned to win.

We want to work with our employees to build a stronger business, improve our customer experience and make Safeway an even better place to work. We agree with UFCW 401 when they say that Safeway is a great place to work. We disagree with UFCW 401 when they say that all Sobeys wants to win is a “retail race to the bottom”.

While we remain committed to achieving a fair and competitive agreement, the union continues to make our discussions more challenging than needed. We hope the Union will join us with a focused approach at the table. Our store teams continue to prove their dedication and commitment, and with your hard work and the strong plans we have in place, we are confident we can get Safeway back on track.