quote:
Safeway Demands Major Concessions
Company says they will "liquidate" Manitoba stores.
Safeway has demanded a $5 per hour labour cost reduction in a new union contract. They say if they don't get it, they'll leave Manitoba. They would sell their stores to another company, or turn their store locations into parking lots.
EDIT:fixed link 
[ 10-24-2001: Message edited by: slek ]
Where's the strategy in that move? 
It's almost the busiest time of the year, the employees voted 93% in favor of a strike and now Safeway threatens to liquidate!
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!......HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
.
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:laughing so hard I'm crying smiley goes here:
.
.
.
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
:wipes tears:
We may have to start a "mitten drive" for the *source* when they tell Safeway to shove it. I hear it gets pretty cold over there in the winter! 
[ 10-24-2001: Message edited by: slek ]
Look at it this way. They ask for a $5 cut and eventually settle for huge cuts for those not yet hired, and perhaps a $1.50 cut or the cost equivalent, for top raters.
The machine goes to the members and says, "We Won! We kicked their ass all the way back to a $1.50 an hour cut."
Rest assured, Safeway doesn't want $5, but they have to ask for it to get the $1.50. They have to let the machine think that it actually won something.
However, it ain't over 'til it's over, so let's watch the antics.
BTW, the 9/11 type of activity always drives up business for food retailers, so business has never been better.
I think I have seen this done before.
The company asks for concessions. The machine says no way, no way in hell!
To prove they are giving it all they got the machine takes the Power Source out on strike for a couple weeks (just 'til they hurt a bit and are glad to go back).
In the meanst while the company patiently waits for the machine to get the pawns in position, then....
The machine calls a ratification meeting, re-iterates the company's threat, adds on one of their own "the company will do this we've seen it done". They pass around a large incomplete document. It is full of concessions, there is a short discussion, short question period, customary machine recommendation to accept. (After all you see .. concessions are better than the stores closing and having no job.) After the traditional scare mongering by the machine, the Power Source gets to vote.
I don't think the vote counts, it is just to make the Power Source believe they have participated and woala!
You got yourself a concessionary contract. The only winners are the machine (more dues via new members), the company (low cost labour).
Lest we all forget I was an Alberta Safeway Employee in '91. In fact, I think this is exactly word for word what we were told then. God I hate the UFCW. How these guys sleep at night when people are hurting, and hurting bad but they pull this crap anyways. They got some nerve bemoaning the actions of the employers.
Attention all Manitoba Safeway Employees !!!!!!!
For Gods sake pull your heads out of your ass's and give them a good shake!
Tell Safeway to piss off. Good riddance. When another employer purchases their stores (and another employer will) they inherit you. Hell would freeze over solid before Safeway ever liquidated stores into parking lots.
There was a saying during the cold war
quote:
better dead, than Red
and as I understand it we won that war. Well why don't you try this one
quote:
better unemployed, than underpaid
Show some testicular fortitude for once and tell the company to take their jobs and shove it! Send the message to Safeway ...pay up, or shut up and get lost...
but you won't will ya? you'll all convince yourselves that you have to capitulate, give in and then later blame the union for selling you out.
Hey guys, what's on Union T.V. tonight? ... Oh hell, another repeat. 
quote:
blame the union for selling you out.
It matter's not what the Power Source choose, we already know the % of acceptance for the deal.
Ontario!.. B.C.! .. Alberta! .. Manitoba! ..
[ 10-25-2001: Message edited by: siggy ]
Alright siggy I will give you that one. My guess is 64-68% in favour just like always. (unless they read this post and decide to change the figure) It still stinks and the power source just isn't outspoken enough about it as far as I'm concerned.
quote:
power source just isn't outspoken enough about it as far as I'm concerned.
Right you are Scott! The thing to remember, I think, is most people do not speak out about stuff they're not aware of .. but things they are a changing. 
[ 10-25-2001: Message edited by: siggy ]
Safeway workers may want to do a quick scan of articles and media releases about the giant corp they work for to see if there have been any statements issued by corporate officials to the effect that the future looks good or, at least, that they are confident in the future. Companies often make such pronouncements to keep the investors happy and these kinds of "official" blurbs can be very helpful to union members whenever the company is crying poor - or threatening to pull up stakes because without rollbacks "we can't compete".
Here's an example of the kind of material I'm talking about. This brief article from the Globe and Mail workopolis web site, is about Sobey's. You'll notice that Sobey's head honcho, while making reference to the "Walmart threat", goes on to say that he is confident in his company's ability to prosper.
Now, if Sobey's officials were making a pitch for concessions, I'd be inclined to refer to this article and say something to the effect of: "But we see that your most senior official has acknowledged the challenge that the competition presents and has implemented a strategy to deal with that challenge. Your business leader himself has stated that he is confident that the company will do well in the future. Let's not hear any more about concessions, thanks."
http://globeandmail.workopolis.com/servlet/News/fasttrack/20011026/MGRETA
quote:
Safeway workers may want to do a quick scan of articles and media releases about the giant corp they work for to see if there have been any statements issued by corporate officials to the effect that the future looks good or, at least, that they are confident in the future.
Well I certainly don't see any gloom and doom in their latest quarterly report. I'd take a document like this and rub the company's nose in it. Why don't unions like the UFCW get advice from business analysts who could take a report like this along with the other financial data and knock the hell out of any argument this company makes about hard times. And all that stuff about moving out of the province? Businesses don't leave a market where they're making money - they'd be stupid to do give up their marketshare. You'd think the UFCW would at least be familiar with the importance of that concept to a business.
Safeway "Well, you see, ahem, yes it does look like Safeway is doing well, but unfortunately that report you're holding is deceptive to the untrained eye. You see, while a small store in Kukamunga is generating most of Safeway Inc.'s profit, the Manitoba area is draining the very life blood from the parent company.
"In fact Oakland is afraid that if we don't turn Manitoba around the entire corporation could face ruin. Therefore, unless we can show some good faith on the union's part, Safeway Inc. will have to shut down all Manitoba stores completely. As a union, you could be responsible for the very destruction of the Manitoba economy." 
Union "What's in it for us?"
Safeway "We could turn every full-time job into three part-time jobs."
Union "Give us three minutes to call Cliff and we'll get right back to you." 
quote:
Conciliation Officer Now Involved in Negotiations
On October 24, the government appointed conciliation officer Beth Stitchell held her first negotiations meeting for the Cara Flight Kitchen / UFCW Local 832 talks. During that meeting, the company and the company outlined their concerns and their key issues to bring the conciliation officer 'up to speed' on what has transpired thus far in negotiations.The conciliation officer made several suggestions which may help to resolve some items. Both parties are considering her suggestions and will return to the bargaining table on November 15.
'Conciliation officer'... would that be the same as a 'mediator'?
[ 10-26-2001: Message edited by: siggy ]
Concilliaton officer is the name usually given to a federal mediator while provincial officers are called mediators.
Sometimes mediators are good at helping resolve "operational" issues. However, if the issues are "monetary" the mediator is used to tell the members they can't have what they are asking for. The union can hide behind the mediator's report and say, "Hey, you heard him/her, your wages and benefits just aren't possible. You are being unreasonable."
I've read enough about CARA/Foodcorp the last couple of weeks to ask myself, "what the hell is the union doing with a mediator/concilliator?" They know it's time to haul ass for the members. It's time to take CARA on. If the members aren't militant, it's because the union didn't foster militancy. Docile members are best for the machine and the employer because the docile swallow whatever they are fed and do whatever they are told. And the CLC no-raiding rules keep them in bondage to one union.
In Ontario there are concilliation officers and mediators. The concilliation officer is a mandatory step for the union if it wants to put itself in a legal strike position. The concilliation officer meets with the two sides and tries to help them reach a settlement. If they can't, either side can ask for what's called a "no board" letter. This is a standard piece of paperwork from the Ministry of Labour which starts the clock ticking towards a legal strike/lock out date (17 days after the letter is issued). Once the no board letter has been issued, the Ministry will offer the two sides the services of a mediator. Like the concilliation officer, the mediator's role is to help them reach a settlement. Unlike the concilliation officer, the use of the mediator is voluntary.
There isn't really a whole lot of difference between what concilliation officers and mediators do. They are involved at different stages of the process. They're government employees, so its necessary to have different titles and probably different pay grades.
I agree, with Richard. Cara is a very profitable company. What an opportunity for a union to make some progress for its members. Let's see what happens.
Don't be too hard on Local 832. Bernie will always do what the International or Rexdale offices tell him to do, but at least he does have a spine. Sadly, Local 832 has had the proverbial rug pulled out from under it by Cliff locals on a number of occasions. In reality, Local 832 is the best the UFCW has to offer in Canada. I know that's not saying a lot, but it's true. What happens when Bernie retires is anybody's guess.
That being said, I don't have a clue what the hell was in his mind when he did the Maple Leaf deal when Edmonton was pounding the pavement.
Gee, have any of you noticed a trace-o-spine developing in the UFCW leadership since the MFD came on the scene?
Spine without dignity, integrety and honour is hollow and will not last. A commitment to democratic principles and power source empowerment is the labour movements only long term salvation. Anything less I cannot and I will not respect.
quote:
have any of you noticed a trace-o-spine developing
Ahh .. NO!
I don't they know what's hitting them.
Look closely.
They usually tell the Power Source very scary stories, so that when the employer offers to hurt them less than promised, the Power Source thinks they have been saved.
Lately, the machine has been talking tough right to the employers. In fact, I do believe a "real" strike is happening in Thunder Bay.
Where once there was Jello, there now seems to be cartilage developing. Who knows, one day something substantial could evolve. Go MFD!
quote:
a "real" strike
I'll believe it when I see it. There was a real lockout/strike just prior to the concessions of '96 for 1518. They kept us out just 'til most of us got hungry, then they gave us our option!
I have two points.
1. Siggy, seems like you're indulging in lowering the members expectations, your insinuations that the union will sell out the Safeway members before the strke has even begun will only benifit Safeway.these members need to know that we are behind them no matter what happens.I know I am,local 832 dosen't appear to be backing down. The only negatives appear to be coming from Safeway and you.
2.We don't know if Safeways threats are real or not however I believe, that If, during the course of collective bargaining, the employer makes a threat to close, or sell ,or franchise their operations. the bargaining committee and the unions' leadership have an obligation to inform their membership.I also believe they have an obligation to give their honest assesment of the likleyhood of the threat being carried out.Anything else would be undemocratic and an abrogation of their responsibilities.
I have yet to see a company pull out of a major market where it's making a profit. The union should base its assessment of the threat on that.
That may be the case Remote, however they still have the obligation to inform and assess.
Nice of you to pick me out of the crowd tug!!
quote:
indulging in lowering the members expectations
Right, not my job!
quote:
your insinuations that the union will sell out the Safeway members before the strke has even begun
Your words not mine!! But if I was asked to find fault with your statement, I would say your timing is off.
quote:
these members need to know that we are behind them no matter what happens
"no matter what happens", tug? Now that does not sound very positive.
quote:
local 832 dosen't appear to be backing down
Go get 'em 832. I'll be the first to cheer a lucrative agreement for the Power Source. Do you think that will happen tug? What increases/benefits do you see the Power Source getting?
quote:
negatives appear to be coming from Safeway and you
Tug, it would appear we don't travel in the same circles!!!
quote:
We don't know if Safeways threats are real or not however I believe, that If, during the course of collective bargaining, the employer makes a threat to close, or sell ,or franchise their operations. the bargaining committee and the unions' leadership have an obligation to inform their membership.
Right you are, and the company sure as hell ain't gonna say 'whoops we were only fooling'. So what's the plan. Call their bluff or fold? How do you see this unfolding? What are the possibilities in light of the threat?
quote:
I also believe they have an obligation to give their honest assesment of the likleyhood of the threat being carried out.
Remote said it best.
My experience says it is all but written in stone. Now if you know something I don't, by all means enlighten me.
[ 10-27-2001: Message edited by: siggy ]
Tug, it's the track records that count.
How many times has Safeway threatened to pull out of a market? How many times has the UFCW exercised its "duty to inform" telling the power source that Safeway really means it this time?
How many times have Machine Heads met secretly with Safeway officials to cut the real deal leaving the supposed bargaining committee to think it was really bargaining?
How many times has the Machine softened up the Power Source by telling them months before so-called "bargaining" that "times are tough in the industry," that "We'll really have to fight to keep what we've got," and that "this employer has shut down and moved from markets before."
The UFCW focuses on the status quo or minimizing losses as opposed to making gains. If the present state of affairs in the retail food industry isn't a result of a deliberate strategy played out by the Machine, then it must be a clear indicator that inept machine heads are running amok.
The Machine Heads preach that they should be compared to the corporate elite when salaries are set. Why? It's obvious their business acumen is mice nuts compared to corporate bosses. Machine heads aren't schooled in the full spectrum of operations management, they know little if anything about business financing, their in-depth understanding of human resources management is minimal at best. Most of the time, these guys let corporate grunts draft the new contract language because they aren't that good with writing or they are just plain lazy.
Tug, if you think a few words on this site will demoralize the Power Source, think again. The greed and corruption on which the machine feeds, demoralized the Power Source long ago. You can't drive up in your fancy car, walk in with your fancy clothes and jewelry, with people knowing what it costs to keep you, and expect to relate to those who work 12 hours per week at minimum wage or slightly better. Hell, you don't even see most of them because the odds are with the regularity of a business agent's visits and the erratic schedule of the working poor, your paths will never cross.
The Machine Heads have gotten rich off the backs of people they have helped to make poor. The Machine Heads dine with the top 15% of Canadians, while the new reality for the Power Source is that unless they quit their UFCW job and find a better one, they will dine with the bottom 30% of Canadians. They will dine with the poor.
The Machine Heads are rich by comparison and, with great pride, they compare themselves to the rich corporate oppressors. "Hell, we don't make as much as Loblaws' President!" If the Machine Heads continue to compare themselves to the rich, the poor will eat them along with the rich. If the Machine Heads fail to lead the poor in revolt against the corporations for which the toil, the poor will revolt against the Machine. They will either rise up and walk away in droves or use their collective might to clean the Machine.
As it sits, the Machine is a tool of corporate greed. The Machine has been cultivated by the rich to help create the poor and then to control them. Tug, if you really believe what you say, I think you've been duped. However, I don't think you've been duped. I think you have grown to love the Machine-supplied goodies so much that you're afraid to lose them. I think you'd be nothing without the Machine. You fear being a nobody over being branded a traitor to working men and woman everywhere. You have power and prestige as a Machine Head, and you aren't about to give that up for anyone's sake.
Rock on brother!
In the most recent edition of 'UFCW 1518 Update' (Fall 2001) magazine Sundin said:
quote:
In the 1997 round of negotiations, we convinced Safeway not to close all stores in the province
'Convinced' =ed two tier wages, buy-outs, benefit loss, weakened bargaining zones, lower start rates, trade offs etc. etc. etc.
Is it really a surprise that a company is using the same effective weapon it used to wipe out the enemy in the last war?
[ 10-28-2001: Message edited by: siggy ]
Tug said:
quote:
...however they [the Machine Heads] still have the obligation to inform and assess.
Hey Tug, there's a far cry between "informing and assessing" and just being the mouthpiece for the Safeway's fear mongering and propaganda.
Look at it this way, they were going to close all BC stores unless they got concessions; they were going to close all the Alberta stores unless they got concessions; now they are going to close all Manitoba stores unless they get concessions.
You'll notice how they shut their traps in Alberta when Loblaws offered to buy all the Alberta assets. It wasn't a fake offer. Loblaws ok'd the offer to buy. Now why wouldn't Safeway want to unload a bunch of stores that were bleeding it dry? Why would Loblaws offer to pay that amount of money to buy a bunch of stores that were hemorrhaging red ink? Pay that kind of money just to close them? Not on your life.
The president of Westfair foods at the time said something to the effect that, "give me three days and I can deliver a set of books to the union showing a loss too." I believe he meant that big corporations can do all sorts of things with long-term and short-term debt and other financial variables to show profits or losses over specific periods. Heck, Safeway used to ship product from wholesale back to manufacturing and back again for inventory. Shifting assets and liabilities between divisions can affect profits and losses as well. For example, Manitoba could be one of the premiere moneymakers in the system, but if Safeway were to shift control of some under-performing operations to Manitoba's books, things might not look to rosy for Manitoba. Load Manitoba up with "book" inventory (bought not delivered, but payment not due until delivery.) and on paper, its debt looks like it's crushing its assets.
Well, the fact of the matter is, all these overpaid Machine Heads aren't allowed to comb Safeway's books, and even if they were allowed, they don't have the training or knowledge to read business finances. If Safeway were truly goin' down the tubes in any Canadian province, the Power Source would see the effects at store level, and if Safeway really were in dire straights, they'd show the books.
Tug, old boy, the Machine's "obligation" is to get informed and get hard, verifiable facts not just swallow the employers crap and then puke it on the Power Source.
The Machine Heads thought they had bought Safeway's respect by "partnering" but it's pretty obvious that Safeway holds them in utter contempt. The Machine Heads are high-priced messengers, not partners.
http://biz.yahoo.com/rf/011024/n24344078_1.html
quote:
Wednesday October 24, 9:27 am Eastern Time
Safeway outlines five-year growth plan
PLEASANTON, Calif., Oct 24 (Reuters) - Supermarket operator Safeway Inc. (NYSE:SWY - news) on Wednesday outlined a five-year earnings growth plan and raised its forecast for the next fiscal year.The company, which operates about 1,800 supermarkets in the United States and Canada, said it is targeting five-year annual earnings-per-share growth of 13 percent to 15 percent, after changes in accounting for goodwill that are to take effect on Jan. 1.
Safeway said this goal is based on expected annual growth in same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least a year, of 3 to 4 percent, and square footage increases of to 5 percent. Without the goodwill adjustment, targeted earnings-per-share growth would be 14 percent to 16 percent, the company said.
Safeway said it expects earnings of $3.20 a share, after the changes in accounting for goodwill, for the year ending in November 2002. Goodwill adjustments are expected to add 27 cents to earnings per share in 2002.
The company also said it plans about $2.1 billion in capital spending in 2002, when it expects to open 80 to 85 new stores, finish 250 remodels and have square footage growth of about 4.5 percent.
Kinda hard to have the square footage grow when your selling stores... doncha think?
[ 10-28-2001: Message edited by: slek ]
Another one for you:
quote:
Monday October 15, 11:46 am Eastern Time
RESEARCH ALERT-Prudential raises Safeway to 'buy'
NEW YORK, Oct 15 (Reuters) - Prudential Securities analyst George Thomson on Monday raised his rating on supermarket operator Safeway Inc. (NYSE:SWY - news) to ``buy'' from ``hold,'' saying that despite war and economic deterioration, both sales and earnings from Safeway should meet his targets.Safeway, based in Oakland, California, is one of the largest supermarket chains in the United States, operating about 1,747 supermarkets in 15 states and western Canada.
Thomson said although same-store sales comparisons are put under a microscope by investors, he thinks ``they'll be much more impressed by what they see in the coming year than they were in the last six months'' from Safeway.
``If the Gulf War is any indicator the performance of the leaders in the food and drug retailing area should substantially outstrip that of the market,'' Thomson said.
Shares of Safeway closed at $44.46 on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday.
Hmmm...
Siggy, you must realize that Tug is a Machine Head, and Machine Heads don't answer questions. One question and a Machine Head clams up; two questions and he starts clutching his chest and his eys start rolling back in his head; three questions put him in complete cardiac arrest.
Siggy, do you realize what you've done with your heartless questioning of a Machine Head? Poor Tug is probably in the ER right about now.
By ER I'm assuming you mean Emergency Room and not Employee Relations Department.
But seriously, I think there is undoubtedly an obligation on the union to tell the Power Source of employer demands for concessions and a responsibility to assess the seriousness of whatever threats of closure the company is making. I would hope, however, that in making that assessment the union requests full disclosure of corporate financial information and takes into account the travesty that concession bargaining has been. I doubt that there are any workers anywhere who have benefitted in the long run from concessions.
If the union concludes that the company is bluffing (which it almost always is), then it should, at the same time as it announces that the company is seeking concessions, make a very definitive statement to the Power Source that concessions are just not on. It should stick to that throughout the bargaining process. Any wavering or sitting on the fence will be construed by the company as a weakness and they'll continue their demands, hoping that all it will take is a short strike to get the rollbacks it's looking for. This strategy has worked well for the employers in the past, so of course they're going to try it.
Sending out a strong "no concessions" message and sticking to it is really important.
[ 10-29-2001: Message edited by: remote viewer ]
quote:
Originally posted by weiser:
Don't be too hard on Local 832. Bernie will always do what the International or Rexdale offices tell him to do, but at least he does have a spine. Sadly, Local 832 has had the proverbial rug pulled out from under it by Cliff locals on a number of occasions.
And that's a fact weiser. Next time your talking with Bernie ask him about Cliff and the Cara pension, um, settlement. Better yet, the members should ask him.
[ 10-29-2001: Message edited by: Shadow ]
quote:
and Machine Heads don't answer questions
Ya tug, you come on telling me to be more positive, when it is time for answers.. where are you?
Tell me how you see this Manitoba Safeway/UFCW conflict going down. What are the possibilities in light of the company threats as you see them.
How the hell can anyone take you seriously if you shrink every time anyone disagrees?
You got a point? Make it!
quote:
In a dramatic turn of events, it now appears likely that a strike against Safeway beginning on November 12 can be averted. The United Food and Commercial Workers, Local 832, and Safeway have tentatively agreed to resolve their dispute over a new union contract through binding arbitration
"At the meetings on Sunday," says Bernard Christophe, president of UFCW Local 832, "instead of asking our members to reject the company's offer, we will ask them to approve referring the resolution of a new collective agreement to binding arbitration
Now who can guess what is going to happen?
If the Power Source vote in favour of this dramatic turn of events the results will be completely out of their control.
Binding arbitration is exactly that .. binding!
[ 11-02-2001: Message edited by: siggy ]
Yup, and Bernie can say, "hey, don't blame me. The arbitrator did it!" Arbitrators always cut the baby in half. They have to 'cause they get paid by both sides and if they want to work in that town again, they have to please both sides.
"Oh goody," the Manitoba Power Source says. Not so quick, little buckaroos. The Power Source isn't included in the people who have to be kept happy. The ones who cut the cheques to the arbitrator are the Union boss and the company boss. Those are the two guys that the arbitrator has to keep happy.
Pure speculation ..?
Safeway gets to stay in Manitoba via wage rollbacks and lesser start rates.
The machine gets to keep all the dues (plus a few extra $$$'s from the cheaper new hires that the company replaces the current crop with. Kinda of a two for one dealie)
The Power Source? Well the Power Source get the shaft!
And as weiser says, the machine will say ... you voted for it.
'Been there done that!
Portage La Prairie apparently had the 'binding arbitration' vote this morning and voted it down.
They said NO! NO! NO!
Links?
According to Slaveway
(#$%^&* perfection!!!)
I read it as 20 voted for arbitration and 12 said no way. That's why the poster is begging Winnipeg to save them.
I suppose Bernie wants to go on his trip to Hawaii without all this unpleasantness hanging over his head. Let's face it, there may be some Safeway management people at the resort and well, how would it be...?
That's too funny Remote!
Damned Power Source may ruin a perfectly fine vacation! 
quote:
I read it as 20 voted for arbitration and 12 said no way
Damn you are right! Must have been wishful thinking.
With the potential to ruin a fun filled vacation, it is hardly likely we'll see the result we had hoped for.
(If memory serves me right the news will
read 63% in favour)
Well colour me wrong again .. the vote was 85% in favour ...
ufcw 832
quote:
The 3,300 UFCW Local 832 members who work at Safeway in Manitoba have given their negotiating committee the authority to refer the dispute over the renewal of their collective agreement to binding arbitration. The vote was 85 per cent in favour of arbitration over strike action
What a %#@*% slimey sales pitch:
quote:
The members had previously given the negotiating committee a 93 per cent strike vote and there was no doubt the membership was ready to take their contract fight the picket line. Despite the membership solidarity, however, there was no indication that the company was about to back down from their demands for major concessions, meaning that it could have been a long and bitter strike. There was no way to know what type of contract could have been achieved at the end of the strike - and there was a good chance that a strike would ultimately be settled by arbitration in any event.
There was also certainly a possibility that the company would carry out their threat to pull out of Manitoba if there was a strike.
Honest guys, the company isn't kidding! You'd better take what the arbitrator gives you or you may get nothing but a long, long, long, long, bitter, bitter, bitter, strike and then they will close all the stores and you will all starve to death. Just like those guys in Thunder Bay. Watch them, we can predict what will happen to them too because the company told us what would happen to them.
[ 11-04-2001: Message edited by: Troll ]
quote:
Local 832 President Bernard Christophe has made it clear that Local 832 has no intention of negotiating reductions of any kind in the wages and benefits of its members employed at Safeway.
Made it clear, my ass .. obviously what Bernard meant to say was Local 832 had NO INTENTIONS OF NEGOTIATING ANYTHING
quote:
In addition, Local 832 has filed charges with the Manitoba Labour Board of bad faith bargaining by Safeway. Compensation of at least $40 million for wages, benefits and damages is being sought. The Labour Board has scheduled a hearing to discuss the charges for Friday, November 23
Oops just fooling!
quote:
Outside help from UFCW Local 1518, the UFCW Canada office, the UFCW International office, and other UFCW Locals across Canada and the United States has been promised if there is a strike, as the issues that are making a strike against Safeway necessary are important beyond Manitoba's borders.
How high can you pile bullshit?
quote:
Indeed, the situation in Manitoba is not unlike what was experienced by Local 1518 members in BC during the last round of contract negotiations, said Brooke Sundin, Local 1518 President.
What's truly amazing is how many ways there are to appease an employer
quote:
"In 1996, we had to fight to svae[sic] our contract too," said Sundin. Sundin has talked to Local 832 President Bernard Christophe and assured him that Local 1518 will provide staff and resources to assist Local 832's battle with Safeway in the event of a strike.
Translation: Do what Safeway wants Bernie, I don't look good in a parka!
quote:
Ivan Limpright, Local 1518's Secretary Treasurer, said "we've been saying for some time now that we expect Safeway to demand concessions from Local 1518 members, and to use the same demands for concessions and threats as what UFCW members in Manitoba are now experiencing. That's why we're putting a lot of energy into preparing for our 2003 negotiations, and asking members to prepare themselves for the likelihood of a strike, given how Safeway has been behaving."
Given how the machine has been behaving, it's a given!!
quote:
"Make no mistake," said Brooke Sundin, "what Safeway is threatening in Manitoba is most likely what Safeway's position in bargaining will be here in B.C. And the ruthless tactics Safeway is using, these threats of liquidation-they are nothing less than industrial capital punishment for Manitoba Safeway workers. This is what we're likely to see happen here as well."
SOooo we can expect Safeway to demand concessions, the machine to say no no no and then turn it over to an arbitrator?
Bloody pathetic ..
[ 11-04-2001: Message edited by: siggy ]
quote:
The members had previously given the negotiating committee a 93 per cent strike vote and there was no doubt the membership was ready to take their contract fight the picket line. Despite the membership solidarity, however, there was no indication that the company was about to back down from their demands for major concessions, meaning that it could have been a long and bitter strike.
Here we go again. Either the strike vote was a fake, or the Machine thinks the members are too stupid to know what they want.
The Machine says, "Hey, we threatened them, but they stood firm. RUN AWAY! RUN AWAY!"
Hey byes, it takes a bit-o-action to makes 'em back down. Threats is fer sissy-byes.
I believe what's happened in Manitoba is a clear indication that the Machine is no longer able to stand up to an employer of any size. The corner store, maybe? The big-uns, not no more.
I guess this is why the workers at Walmart and the other chains the UFCW is chasing after without any sign of success aren't lining up to sign membership cards. Who needs a union that will go running off when the boss says "no". Now the Safeway Power Source's fate is in the hands of some rent-a-judge whose livelihood depends on keeping the union and the company happy.
The Power Source needs to start thinking about its options. This kind of expediency is going to get more commonplace.
Simply unbelievable !
I just can't get over what a bunch of gutless, spineless cowards reside in the union halls accross this country. They just make me sick!
Binding arbitration???????
Who the hell came up with that bull s.h.i.t.? What exactly does this union do anyway?
The definition of a coward: to be strong when your opponent is weak, and weak when your opponent is strong. This seems to be the credo of the UFCW. I think anyone (no matter how bad they have it at work)who actually voluntarily votes to join this joke of a union is out of their mind and dumber than a sack of hammers. Who needs a worker tax on top of the pathetic wages most workers get?
They say they had a 93% stike vote. What do they need before they feel confident enough to take Safeway on--125% or perhaps 193%?
Maybe we can get a good picture of Bernie laughing it up with the Safeway brass in Hawaii in a couple of weeks.
As the Machine Heads like to say, "Life is a Beach."
E Lai Ka Lei Lei
Tiny spy-cams .. in the wine.
Make me happy, make me feel fine..
Tiny spy-cams make 'em squirm all over.
With a feelin that we're gonna haunt 'em
Til the end of time. Aloha Oe
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