In preparation for negotiations with Loblaw set to start at the end of this month, President Dan Goodman and Secretary-Treasurer Charles Pratt met with the bargaining committee yesterday.

The meeting was held via Zoom and had the committee review the proposal package. All the proposals that were discussed resulted from the input of our members, collected through the proposal survey that took place in May. Early in the meeting, UFCW 401’s Executive Director Chris O’Halloran, shared the challenges and achievements that the Alberta Local has been experiencing during their current negotiations with Loblaw.

Initial negotiation meetings with Loblaw are scheduled for July 27-30. Dan Goodman and Charles Pratt will Co-Chair negotiations for the Retail group, while Director of Bargaining Dean Patriquin will serve as Chair on behalf of the Distribution Centers. “We will continue to fight for protections and improved working conditions for our members at Superstore and the Distribution Centres, specially after the demands our members experienced during the Covid-19 Pandemic” added President Goodman.

Since in-person gathering restrictions linked to Covid-19 are being lifted, the bargaining committee meetings with the company will be conducted in person, with the option to meet virtually using Zoom or Microsoft Teams, if needed. Technology has allowed us to share documents, discuss issues and debate proposals effectively, while following all safety guidelines. We plan to negotiate through the summer and reach a new collective agreement for our members as soon as possible.

Our Bargaining Committee will represent the diversity of the membership in relation to the different jobs and departments in stores and distribution centres.

The following members/stewards will represent the Retail (Superstore) members:

• Dave Mowatt – RCSS 1564
• David Haere – RCSS 1522
• Dawn Stevenson – RCSS 1521
• John Lewinski – RCSS 1527
• Liza Felipe – RCSS 1560
• Sandra Geldart – RCSS 1524
• Sandra Peters – RCSS 1554
• Susan Espin – RCSS 1560

The Distribution Centres will be represented by the following members/stewards:

• Dave French – DC 1932
• Daniel Asselin – DC 1932
• Dino Castellarin – DC 1935
• Bjorn Clavecilla – DC 1935
• Eric Nielsen – DC 1935
• Gord Cheung – DC 1935
• Wojciech Rojewski – DC 1935
• Ashton Cooper – DC 1957
• Raj Chawla – DC 1957
• Bryce Kusel – DC 1957
• Tony Nguyen – DC 1957
• Windsor Diga – DC 1957

Thank You  to the bargaining committee members for agreeing to represent their peers in this important round of negotiations.

We will be sharing bargaining updates on our website, when possible. We encourage everyone to follow us on Facebook (@UFCWLocal247) and on Instagram (@ UFCW247).