Month: October 2020

On Tuesday, October 27, UFCW 1518 President Kim Novak sent a letter to Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry asking her to require anyone entering a grocery store or retail outlet to wear a mask.

The call comes after COVID-19 cases peaked at over 800 cases over the weekend, making it clear that British Columbia is in the second wave of the pandemic. UFCW 1518 is seeking mandatory mask-wearing in grocery stores to slow the transmission of the virus and protect front line workers.

“Our members are diligently doing their part to prevent the spread of COVID-19 by wearing masks and carrying out enhanced health and safety procedures,” said Novak. “It’s time that the government did its part to ensure that customers wear masks to protect workers.”

Click here to read the letter to Dr. Henry.

Our campaign has been picking up steam in the media:

• Grocery union wants mask order – News 1130 Watch Now
• Labour union calls on B.C.’s top doctor to mandate masks in grocery stores – CTV News Vancouver Island Read Now
• BC grocery stores continue to call for masks – CTV News Vancouver Island Watch Now
• Union representing grocery workers calls on Dr. Bonnie Henry to mandate masks in stores – Check News Read Now

 

UFCW 1518 is pleased to announce that two more Safeway locations will come off of Appendix B as of October 18.

The two stores that will come off of Appendix B are Store #56–Kamloops and Store #36–Robson.

Members at these stores will have the following reinstated:

• A.T.O. entitlement and accrual for full-time Grid A employees
• Part-time rate of pay for part-time Grid A employees
• Full employer contributions for Grid B benefits
• Health, safety and education fund contributions

With the two new stores, 13 stores have come off of Appendix B. There are now a total of 26 Safeway stores with their full wages and benefits in place as per the CBA, which also provides junior employees with the opportunity to capture more hours.

“We’re pleased to see that two more stores are moving off of Appendix B,” said UFCW 1518 President Kim Novak. “This is a positive step in a long process of getting benefits and wages restored for our members, and also provides more opportunities for junior members to capture more hours of work. We will continue to push forward in getting more stores off of Appendix B once they have reached the definition of profitability as per the arbitration we won earlier this year.”

UFCW 1518 and Sobeys will meet again on December 16 to review more financial statements for the months of August, September and October 2020.