Grocery workers threaten strike at Safeway stores in Central, Northern CA
A strike by thousands of Safeway grocery workers could begin Sunday if the company and its parent fail to reach a new labor agreement by midnight Saturday, with plans to picket delayed by one day.
The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union Local 8, along with two other California chapters — Locals 5 and 648 —are in talks for a contract that would cover 25,000 employees at the Safeway locations, which are owned by Boise, Idaho-based Albertsons.
The union said the contract includes stores as far south as Bakersfield up to the Oregon border.
Union officials said they are seeking higher wages, better funding for health care and pension plans, and stronger scheduling protections. If no deal is reached, picket lines may form at Safeway locations across Northern and Central California beginning at 12:01 a.m. Sunday.
The strike had initially been set to begin at 12:01 a.m. Saturday, but union officials announced early Saturday that that deadline had been extended by 24 hours.
“This is about fairness and respect for hard-working, frontline members who keep our communities fed and our stores running,” said Jacques Loveall, president of UFCW 8 in a statement. “We’re calling on Safeway-Albertsons to do right by union members.”
Safeway said in a statement that it is negotiating in good faith, and respects employees’ rights to participate in collective bargaining. The groups are working with a federal mediator.
The potential strike comes amid the ongoing fallout from a failed merger between Albertsons and Kroger, two of the largest grocery chains in the country. In October 2022, Kroger announced plans to acquire Albertsons for $24.6 billion in a deal that would have consolidated control of more than 5,000 stores nationwide, including Safeway, Lucky, and Ralphs.
That proposal drew swift opposition from regulators, labor unions and consumer advocates, who warned it would reduce competition and raise food prices. In December 2024, a federal judge blocked the merger following a challenge by the Federal Trade Commission and attorneys general from multiple states.
Albertsons operates more than 2,200 stores in 34 states. It acquired Safeway in 2015 and owns roughly 243 Safeway locations in California, including nearly two dozen supermarkets in the capital region.
The union has not disclosed how many stores may be affected by the strike if it moves forward.
This story was originally published July 25, 2025 at 2:00 PM with the headline "Grocery workers threaten strike at Safeway stores in Central, Northern CA."
