UFCW Twenty Four Seven - UFCW 247 Pop Up

What About Us??

Many of you might have seen the postings on Local 1518's website referring to upcoming strike and temporary dues increase votes the local will be holding for members employed by Overwaitea, converted PriceSmart stores, the converted Coopers store in Merritt, and Safeway.

These votes come about as a result of both Safeway and Overwaitea asking for rollbacks and concessions to the contract, according to Local 1518 President Ivan Limpright. You are probably asking how this effects Local 247 members and our ability to negotiate with both companies. We have asked both Safeway and Overwaitea for bargaining dates. We have confirmed dates on April 29th and 30th for Safeway but have been unable to get dated from Overwaitea. We believe they do not wish to meet until the completion of the Price Smart hearings currently taking place but expected to be completed shortly. We support Local 1518 in their quest to get fair settlements as many of the isues they pust forth are the same proposals we will be bringing to the table such as the elimination of the two-tier system.

We have been and will continue to be in contact with Local 1518 as the process continues. We have contacted the National Defence Fund about providing Picket Captain training so that we are prepared in case of a dispute. We expect to announce those dates shortly. We will also be sending the expanded servicing teams into the stores to help answer any questions people may have. Members may also call their full time representatives at any of the Union Offices. The current collective agreement for Overwaitea and Safeway members expires at the end of the day on March 29, 2008 but remains in effect until the membership ratifies a new agreement.

247 Members Vote to Send Smaller Delegation

Local 247 members have decided that it's a good idea to send a reduced delegation to the International Convention later this year. In votes held throughout the province from March 17-21, members were asked to vote on the Local sending 10 delegates instead of the 20 that the Local was designated by the International Union. Eighty-seven percent (87%) of people agreed with the decision of the Executive Board and voted "yes" to the reduction. "It only makes sense with all the Negotiations we have scheduled for the year that we look at sending a smaller group," commented 247 President Gib Whitlock, "I thank the members for supporting our recommendation."

Nomination meetings will be held during the week of April 21-25 and results announced shortly after that.

UFCW Canada Retail Council calls on Loblaw Companies to to stop ignoring its collective agreement obligations

Loblaw Companies Limited is Canada'a largest food retailer operating under a number of banners including Loblaw, Zehrs, Real Canadian Superstore, Atlantic Superstore, No Frills, Fortinos, Extra Foods, Wholesale Club, Maxi, and Provigo. UFCW Canada, the union that represents workers at grocery stores and warehouses across Canada operated by Loblaw Companies Limited is calling on the company to honour its labour contracts and to stop ignoring its labour relations obligations. The union is insisting that the company recognize all workers’ basic rights.

According to Wayne Hanley, the national president of UFCW Canada, "across this country Loblaw is systematically embarking on a campaign of failing to respond to the grievances of our members and in many cases is unreasonably delaying the resolution of matters. It is as if workplace relations have disappeared in the struggling company."

Hanley's comments followed a meeting of the UFCW Canada Retail Council yesterday. The council is made up of the leadership of the UFCW Canada local unions that represent the Loblaw-banner workers across Canada, including UFCW Canada Locals 1000A, 175, 1977, 1518, 247, 401, 832, 1400, 500R, 501, 1991P, 503, 486, 1288P, and 864.

The Retail Council meeting was convened to discuss the state of the retail food industry in Canada and quickly became consumed with discussions surrounding Loblaw's flagrant disregard of the various collective agreements covering the terms and conditions of employment of its workers, as well as its hostile positioning in advance of negotiations for new collective agreements for its stores in western Canada.

"Loblaw has become a company that seems to have lost its direction and focus going forward into the future," said Hanley. "Its actions and the attitudes exhibited by senior management and those at the store level have become poisonous to the notion of a co-operative relationship between the company and its employees. That's not good for Loblaw or its customers and it's not good for the shareholders including the Weston family."

"UFCW Canada is not willing to tolerate such acts by Loblaw to circumvent and undermine our representational rights," said Hanley.

"Our local unions from coast to coast will be vigourously enforcing their collective agreements with the company and if the company's combative mood continues our union will respond leading up to negotiations in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and British Columbia, as well as in Alberta where negotiations are approaching a critical stage."

"In preparation for further action, we are also reviewing the company's recent decisive conviction under Alberta's labour laws of violating workers' rights to free association without coercion, intimidation, or harassment."

"We're in this for the long haul and so should be Loblaw. We encourage the company to act in good faith and to resolve our mutual problems in the interest of our members employed by the company and in the long term interests of the business."

Local 247 Case against Price Smart Conversions begins at Labour Board

Finally, over 2 years after the announcement of the first conversion of the Whalley Save-On Foods to a Price Smart, Local 247 began presenting its case at the Labour Relations Board. The hearings commenced on December 14th and 17th, with both parties making opening statements, and then the Local proceeding first.

Secretary-Treasurer Suzanne Hodge indicated that legal counsel for the local were pleased with the progress of the case over the 2 days and that additional dates for the continuation of the hearings were being set in February, March and April.

She went on to comment that Local 247 and its members affected by these conversions have been waiting too long for the hearings to start and over the last 2 years almost every imaginable obstacle has delayed the commencement of our case.

Finally the process has begun and we continue to be optimistic regarding a successful outcome.

President Gib Whitlock stated that the eventual decision could have far-reaching implications in the industry and that Overwaitea can not be allowed to convert and eliminate Local 247 members whenever it suits the company.

The issue is further complicated by the recent loss of the Local 1518 arbitration case that clearly allows Overwaitea to convert Local 1518 members at will to the Price Smart agreement.

That decision however does not apply to Local 247 members and the eventual outcome of the 247 case will determine the conversions one way or the other for Local 247 members.

Once the additional hearing dates are confirmed they will be announced by Local 247 to our members.

Local 247 Proceeding to Labour Relations Board regarding Price Smart Conversions

Local 247 will be at the Labour Relations Board On Wednesday November 28th regarding the conversion of Save On Foods stores to Price Smart stores. The Local 247 hearings were to have commenced on Monday November 26th and run throughout the week, however the dates were once again changed as the decision regarding the Local 1518 arbitration case had not yet been announced.

Late in the day on November 27th, Local 247 was informed that the arbitration decision had been released and that Local 1518 had unfortunately lost their case regarding the conversions.

Secretary-Treasurer Suzanne Hodge stated "We are sympathetic to the members of Local 1518 who will be affected by the loss of this arbitration case, however this is not to be confused with the Local 247 case regarding these conversions.

Local 247 believes it has a very strong case against the company’s conversion of existing stores and the resulting transfer of representation of 247 members to local 1518. Local 247 will be continuing the pursuit of this case on behalf of its members at the Labour Board. These hearings are expected to continue on December 14th and 17th.

President Gib Whitlock stated, " It is very unfortunate indeed that Local 1518 has lost their arbitration case regarding the conversions. It is extremely important for our members to remember that Local 247 had the foresight in the last round of negotiations not to negotiate those types of clauses into it’s collective agreement. Therefore the company will have, in our opinion, great difficulty justifying the conversion of our stores and our members. We look forward to having our case heard at the labour board. Our members have endured almost 2 years of delays and they deserve justice.

Safeway and Overwaitea Proposal Conferences a Success

"A huge success." Those were the words President Gib Whitlock used to sum up the recent proposal conferences for Local 247 Safeway and Overwaitea Foods members. Held on October 9th and 10th for Overwaitea members and October 17th and 18th for Safeway members the conferences saw a cross section of members brought together to discuss the bargaining proposals that had been forwarded to the local through the online survey and mail-in forms. The participants were so enthusiastic that there will be a continuation of the Safeway meetings in January 2008. "We were barely able to get through the Overwaitea proposals in the two days and we were having so much discussion with our Safeway group that we decided to bring them back to continue on as opposed to cutting off important feedback," commented Local 247 Director of Bargaining Dan Goodman.

The Local also arranged for two important and insightful guest speakers to branch out from the normal format. Local 247 legal counsel Tony Glavin gave the members an overview of the legal side to collective bargaining and disputes, and Stephanie Griffiths from Mercers Canada gave an in-depth presentation on the UFCW Pension Plan. "I think it was extremely valuable for the members to have the chance to not only get a better explanation and understanding of how the Pension Plan works but also get answers directly from the administrators of the plan," said Secretary -Treasurer Suzanne Hodge.

Zone 1 Safeway and Overwaitea Members Vote to Join NDF

At meetings held throughout this week, Local 247 Zone 1 Safeway and Overwaitea Foods members have both voted to join the National Defence Fund. The Fund provides additional weekly picket pay of $100 for qualified members at a cost of an additional $2 per week in dues. Additionally, the Fund provides support through the payment of costs associated with a labour dispute, such as portable trailers and washrooms, generators, advertisement fees, and most importantly- legal fees. " I think it sends both companies a clear message", commented 247 President Gib Whitlock. "Our members expect and deserve a fair deal and this is just one step they have taken to ensure both Safeway and Overwaitea know that. Obviously no one goes into collective bargaining looking for a dispute but we need to be prepared for any consequence." Overwaitea members voted 88% to join and Safeway members 63%

Membership servicing program introduced in Safeway & Save-On Foods

As part of our ongoing preparations for negotiations in 2008, beginning September 10th, Local 247 is introducing a membership servicing program for our members employed at Safeway and Save-On Foods.

The purpose of the program will be to assist our members at Safeway and Save-On Foods with bargaining related issues.

Membership servicing representatives Nancy Randel, Shona Smith and Brian Taylor will be available in Safeway stores starting September 10th through to September 27th. Membership servicing representative Guy Fraser will be available in Save-On Foods stores starting September 17th through to September 27th. Additional dates will be determined and announced for the remainder of the year and will continue through out the negotiations process.

Notice of the upcoming National Defense Fund affiliation meetings and votes have now been mailed out to all members employed at Safeway and Save- On Foods in Zone one.

If you have not received this notice you may request one by calling the Union office at 604-535-8329. This notice is also available on our web site and will be posted in each of the stores.

We will continue to keep you updated regarding our preparations for the 2008 Negotiations.

Labour Board Hearing dates regarding Price Smart changed again.

Once again there has been a delay in the Labour board Hearing dates for Local 247 regarding the conversion of Save-on Food stores to Price Smart stores.

Local 247 was to begin the hearings this September 17th. Last year you may recall that the Labour Board ruled that the local 247 hearings could not commence until such time as the Local 1518 arbitration was completed and a decision had been issued by the arbitration panel.

The Local 1518 arbitration continues this week and unfortunately into the end of September.

Local 247 has now been given new hearing dates of November 26th to 30th and December 14th and 17th, 2007.

"This has been a long and frustrating process for Local 247 and its Overwaitea members", stated President Gib Whitlock "and I thank them once again for their patience and understanding". If Local 1518 wins their case against the company then so theoretically does Local 247. However, if Local 1518 were to loose their case, the arbitrator/panel does not have the jurisdiction to rule on anything regarding Local 247 and all that will have been accomplished is a long delay for our Local 247 members who have been, or who may be affected by these conversions.

President Whitlock went on to state that it is more than likely that Overwaitea will make the conversions an issue for bargaining which should prove somewhat difficult for them if the Labour Board hearings have not been completed and a ruling issued.

Local 247 will be sending detailed updates to it's members in the near future.

Local 247 to receive documents for Price Smart Hearing

On August 8th, Local 247 made arguments in the supreme court regarding contempt charges brought against Overwaitea.
The Labour board had issued an order to the company last year for production of documents to Local 247's legal counsel in order to begin preparations for the upcoming Labour Board hearings regarding the conversion of Save-On Food stores to Price Smart stores.

Local 247's legal counsel, Casey McCabe made the legal arguments on behalf of Local 247.
Secretary-Treasurer Suzanne Hodge attended and stated: Casey McCabe did an outstanding job with the legal arguments. We were dismayed however with the defense that the company made in court which was that in issuing the order to the "employer" that the Labour Board had failed to define exactly who the employer was, therefore the company argued that they were not in contempt of court by failing to produce the documents to Local 247.
Suzanne went on to state that this may in fact have been the most disgraceful argument put forth by the company to date and added that the company appears to be trying everything they can to delay our hearings at the Labour board and inhibit the ability of local 247 to prepare for those hearings.
The company had actually applied to the Labour board for a stay on the boards order for production of documents and their application was denied on Tuesday August 7th.
Local 247 and the company did however manage to reach an agreement in the early afternoon yesterday. The company has agreed to produce the required documents to Local 247's legal counsel by September 6th, and the contempt action initiated by Local 247 will only be dismissed after receipt and verification of the documents ordered by the board.
We are hopeful that this is a step in the right direction by the company but will refrain from holding our breaths for now.

Local 247 Sues Overwaitea Food Group for Contempt

This last October the Labour Board ordered the company to produce documents that Local 247 required in order to prepare its case for the upcoming hearings regarding the conversion of Save-On Foods to Price Smart stores. Overwaitea refused to produce a substantial portion of the documents.

Local 247 exercised its rights under the labour board to register the order in the Supreme Court. The order is now an order of the Supreme Court of Canada. Despite this, Overwaitea continued to defy the court order and ignored repeat requests from Local 247’s legal counsel to produce the documents. Local 247 is in court today (Wednesday, August 8th) and dealing with this matter. Yesterday, the Labour Relations Board denied the Company's application for a stay regarding the board's original order for production of documents. Despite this, Overwaitea continued to fail to produce the required documents.

On July 24th, Local 247 President Gib Whitlock and Secretary-Treasurer Suzanne Hodge tried once again to obtain observer status in the continuing arbitration between Local 1518 and Overwaitea on the conversion of Save-On stores to Price Smarts. The company once again refused to allow them to attend without imposing the same restrictions they had previously asked for. Local 247 will continue to update our members regarding the outcome of these proceedings.

In a surprised and unexpected maneuver by Overwaitea, President Gib Whitlock, Secretary-Treasurer Suzanne Hodge and Local 247s legal counsel Casey McCabe, were given an ultimatum to sign a confidentiality agreement or they would not be allowed to remain as observers to the arbitration between local 1518 and Overwaitea regarding the conversion of Save-On stores to Price Smarts.

Local 247 had asked for and received permission from Local 1518 at the beginning of this year to sit in on the arbitration between Local 1518 and Overwaitea. Local 247 had done so and had listened to testimony from various witnesses without any objections from the employer until now.

Overwaitea did not object to Local 247s presence during the morning of July 10th while testimony was heard from retired Local 1518 President Brooke Sundin, however upon the resumption of the arbitration after lunch, legal counsel for the employer suddenly proposed a confidentiality agreement. Local 247 officials and their counsel were prepared to sign and accept the strict confidentiality terms however the employer also sought an agreement from local 247 that if it breached, or were accused of breaching the terms of the confidentiality agreement that Local 247 and its counsel would agree not to oppose the granting of any judicial relief and would waive any and all defense to the strict enforcement of the agreement.

In other words the Union would not be able to defend itself against an alleged breach of the confidentiality agreement.

Just to be crystal clear, they wanted us to have absolutely no opportunity to respond or question an accusation made, no matter how ridiculous or far fetched it might be. So much for innocent until proven guilty!

Local 247 President Gib Whitlock stated shortly after being given the final ultimatum "obviously there is little trust from Overwaitea regarding the integrity of Local 247". Talk about a major understatement!

Secretary-Treasurer Suzanne Hodge stated it would be interesting to see the companys reaction if the Union were to demand in bargaining next year that the company agree to similar terms for an alleged breach of the collective agreement and waive their rights to a defense.

Legal counsel for Local 247, Casey McCabe was shocked and appalled at the extreme position suddenly taken by Overwaitea. Overwaitea has still not produced all of the documents that Local 247 has requested for the upcoming labour board hearings he added.

Hearings are scheduled at the labour board commencing this September 17th for the Local 247 case against Overwaitea for the conversion of the Save On Stores to Price Smarts. Local 247 members in the converted stores were unceremoniously removed from Local 247 without their or Local 247s consent and deemed to be 1518 members by the company at the point of conversion of each of the locations in question.

This appears to go waaaayyy beyond regular confidentiality issues and we wonder just exactly what it is that Overwaitea did not want Local 247 and their counsel to hear during the remainder of the testimony and the duration of the arbitration.

Safeway and Overwaitea Proposal Surveys

Local 247 Canada Safeway and Overwaitea Foods members will be receiving a letter in the mail in the next two weeks asking for their input in putting together proposals for the upcoming negotiations. The letters will direct members to access an online survey where they can answer a series of multiple choice questions and also write in their own proposals and suggestions. If members do not have access to a computer, they may request to have a hard copy of the survey mailed to their home address by simply calling the Union office. "This new online version gives us the ability to track our members answers and establish what their key issues are," said Local 247 President Gib Whitlock. 'It's something we hope to utilize for most sets of negotiations in the future."

Pricesmart Conversions 247 Update

The hearing for the Local 247 case against the Price Smart Conversions is scheduled to commence on September 17th, 2007, at the labour board.
As part of our ogoing preparation for these hearings, Local 247 is attending as observers, the Local 1518 arbitration case regarding the conversions.
Local 1518 has had 11 arbitration days so far since the end of November, and there are 2 more days of arbitration scheduled for this week. Representatives and legal council from Local 247 have been and will continue to be present at these arbitrations.

Secretary-Treasurer Suzanne Hodge stated "We anticipate that this arbitration with Local 1518 will continue well into July and possibly beyond, however as this is a separate case from the Local 247 hearings , it should not interfere with our dates scheduled for this fall."

We will continue to update our members with regards to our progress.

Local 247 will be proceeding to the labour board for hearings regarding the conversions of Save-On Foods store to Price Smarts.

The hearings will commence on September 17th for the entire week and again the following week commencing on September 24th. President Gib Whitlock stated: "Finally we have confirmed dates for our case to be heard. Our members have waited long enough, we are confident that we will be successful and justice will done. We look forward to the hopeful return of our members to Local 247."

Overwaitea Foods announced March 13th that the planned conversion of the Clearbrook Save-On Foods to a Price Smart will take effect on November 17th. Representative Bruce Jackson was present at the store with our members yesterday and again today. Secretary-Treasurer Suzanne Hodge stated ," The union will do everything we can to assist our members with this latest conversion. Our case will have been heard at the labour board before we reach the next conversion date. We are being cautiously optimistic however regarding an actual decision being issued by the labour board prior to that date."

Resolve Reached With Safeway Over M/D/S Production Clerk Promotion to Seafood Operator

A grievance was filed by Local 247 on November 10, 2005 over the Seafood Operators rate of pay once a M/D/S Production Clerk had been promoted into the position. Seafood Production Clerks were given the Operators position without receiving the benefits and wages of the M/D/S classification.

The union and the employer have had several discussions but the matter was scheduled to go to arbitration in February 2007. The parties met one last time on November 16 and agreed to the following Letter of Understanding as a resolve to the issue.

Letter of Understanding #32

Between: United Food and Commercial Workers Local 247

And: Canada Safeway Ltd.

Re: Meat/Deli/Seafood Production Clerk Promotion to Seafood Operator

The parties agree to the following terms regarding the promotion of M/D/S Production Clerks to Seafood Operators:

1. The employee shall be placed on the Meat/Deli/Seafood Clerks scale at the start rate, or the rate they had before, whichever is higher.

2. The newly promoted employees' career hours shall be reset to zero and the employee will begin to accumulate career hours on the Meat/Deli/Seafood clerks scale.

3. The employees' seniority date will remain the same.

4. Benefits will be covered as per the collective agreement.

Notice to all 247 members employed at Save On Foods, Overwaitea and Price Smart.

As you are aware hearings were scheduled to commence the week of November 20th and the week of December 10th at the Labour Relations Board, regarding the conversion of Save on Foods stores to Price Smart.

As of Friday November 10th, these hearings were adjourned due to the disclosure of a serious medical condition and sudden surgery regarding Local 1518's legal council, Shona Moore.

As the scheduled hearings were less than 2 weeks away it was not possible for a different lawyer to take over the case for local 1518 and the nature of the hearings did not allow for Local 247 at this time, to proceed on our own. The LRB will be ruling this week on the employers deferral application and the issue of production of documents from the employer regarding this case. Local 1518's arbitration is scheduled to begin on November 25th, as that issue was being handled by different legal council for Local 1518.

We would like to express our concern, and wishes for a speedy recovery to Shona.

We expect to resume new dates for our hearing early in the new year and we will keep our members up to date in that regard.

Westfair to Extend Store Hours for Holiday Season

Westfair Foods has announced plans to extend the operating hours of their Real Canadian Superstores for the Holiday season. Stores will be open from 8:00 am till midnight from December 10th to 23rd inclusive.
Employees will be asked in order of seniority whether they wish to work up until midnight during this time period. Available anytime employees will be asked first, followed by restricted employees. They will be asked to indicate their choice of yes or no by signature next to their printed name on a list provided by the employer. Anytime employees who choose not to work until midnight will not see a reduction to their regular guarantees.

If members have any questions or concerns regarding this or any other matter, they should phone their union representative.

To: Kelowna, Vernon and Cranbrook Superstore Meat Production Employees

Re: Central Meat Cutting Facility

As you are probably aware, Westfair Foods announced on October 13 that they would not be proceeding with the planned Meat Cutting Facility. The Company asked us, as well as representatives from UFCW Locals 401 and 1400, to attend a meeting to discuss the retention bonuses they had committed to paying. The Company also wished to discuss a plan to introduce a new training program for Meat Production employees.

It is the intent of the Company to make changes to the retention bonuses promised to employees hired prior to the May 2005 plant announcement, as outlined in the letter the Company mailed you dated October 13, 2006. The Company presented these proposed changes to us verbally, all of which would be considered inferior to their initial offer. The Company no longer wish to pay out the "current employee lump sums" that were implemented on May 8, 2005 but rather a premium to be based on hours worked- combined with a reduced lump sum which would only be paid if the employee was still with the Company in September 2007. We have asked Westfair to formally submit their proposal to us in writing.

We also asked the Company if the Cutting Facility was now a dead issue and if they would guarantee the expansion and operation of its Meat departments for the foreseeable future, or at the very least, for the duration of the collective agreement. They were unable or unwilling to do so.

We will keep you informed of any future discussions.

As you are aware your employer has recently either converted or announced the conversion of 4 Save-On Foods stores to the Price Smart Banner in the Whalley, Semiahmoo, Langley and Chilliwack locations.

As you are also aware, Local 247 grieved each of the conversions and filed an application at the Labour Relations Board under several sections of the B.C. Labour Code. At the point of each of the completed conversions the company has taken the position that the members who were Local 247 members are now members of Local 1518 and the company has arbitrarily applied a different collective agreement in that regard.

Local 247 has vigorously opposed the actions of the company against our members and is proceeding firstly to the Labour Board to make our case.

The hearings at the Labour board will commence on November 20th for that entire week and again for the week of December 11th to 15th, 2006.

I would like to thank you for your patience and cooperation over the past 10 months and we understand this has been a confusing and difficult time for you. Local 247 will continue to update you as to our progress, and we will update you again when the hearings have been completed.

Hearing dates set re: Save-On/PriceSmart Coversions

Local 247 made application to the Labour Board on February 20th regarding the conversion of Save-On Foods stores to Price Smart stores and other related issues.
The Labour board has confirmed that the hearings will take place on the following weeks:
November 20th to 24th and December 10th to 15th, 2006 inclusive.
The Labour board has instructed your employer to post the notice of hearings in a conspicuous place so that all employees can see it. That is a normal requirement of the Labour board.
The notice when you read it may be somewhat confusing to you as to who is required to attend the hearings.The Union represents the members in this matter and will determine who is required to appear as a witness and when.
We will keep you informed as to our progress and a more detailed update to all of our members employed at Save- On Foods and PriceSmart stores will be mailed to you shortly.

Local 247 members at Pitt Meadows Warehouse to receive almost $10,000 as a result of policy grievance

The Union received numerous complaints from the members at 1932 Pitt Meadows Western Grocers warehouse where existing members were not being offered overtime hours while container work was being done by an outside temporary labour agency. A policy grievance was filed on July 5th 2006 regarding the violation which began week ending June 24th 2006. Shortly after the grievance was filed, the company began posting notices advising members to sign up for extra hours.

The Union and the Company representatives have met several times to discuss the grievance and have agreed to the following resolve: All existing UFCW 247 members at the 1932 Pitt Meadows Western Grocers Warehouse shall receive 3.75 hours times their regular rate of pay. This number is approximately all the hours worked by the temp agency employees divided by the number of warehouse members and adds up to almost $10,000. The Company must abide by the collective agreement and first offer the extra hours, including overtime to existing members in the affected department and then other departments. This will be done through a posting system, with members who wish to work extra hours signing up via the posting. The company will then offer hours to the members who have signed up.

Should there still be a shortage of manpower after all members have signed up for extra hours, the company will have the ability to utilize an outside temporary labour agency.

Please note that the extra hours offered by the company will be offered in accordance with the scheduling and seniority provisions within the collective agreement.