Alberta Safeway workers vote overwhelmingly to authorize strike

Nearly 8,000 Safeway workers across Alberta voted Saturday to authorize a strike if negotiations with Sobeys don't produce a fair collective agreement — and the margins were overwhelming.

In Calgary, 87 per cent of workers voted in favour of strike authorization. In Edmonton, more than 90 per cent backed it. In other Alberta cities, support topped 95 per cent. The retail bargaining unit voted 86 per cent in favour; the meat southern unit, 93 per cent; and the meat north unit, 90 per cent.

Workers are seeking wages that keep pace with inflation, better benefits, improved job security, and safer stores. "They want a fair agreement that allows them to support their families and recognizes the value of the work they do every day," said Thomas Hesse, president of UFCW Local 401. "They want to be able to afford the food they stock on the shelves, to work in safe stores and to know they have job security moving forward."

The union noted that around 10,000 customers have already registered support through a Fair Checkout campaign website. Polling by Environics found a majority of surveyed customers said they would not cross a picket line if one forms, and more than half believed grocery store workers are underpaid. A majority of surveyed customers also blamed Canadian grocers for high prices.

Hesse warned Sobeys of what a strike could mean for their operations. "If Sobeys forces Safeway workers onto the picket line, customers are going to notice the difference. They could be walking into empty shelves, older produce, longer checkout lines and higher prices," he said.

The union framed a potential walkout as part of a broader labour moment, pointing to what it calls a possible "Great Grocery Strike of 2026." The membership does not want to strike, Hesse emphasized, but Sobeys needs to understand the stakes. "When customers see angry workers standing outside their local Safeway, we expect many of them will stay away."

History colours these talks. In 2024, wages for roughly half of Safeway workers had increased by 10 per cent — 5 per cent in 2023 and another 5 per cent in 2024 through union bargaining. But Sobeys reclaimed 6.5 per cent of those increases after a judicial review. The union successfully challenged the decision to have wages restored.