Safeway Attempts to Block Signature Collectors

SN STAFF

PLEASANTON, Calif. — Safeway here said it is cracking down on people collecting signatures outside its stores in California by taking them to court if they don't abide by the chain's rules.

The company said it has seen many instances where paid signature collectors have blocked customers from entering or leaving a store — at its Safeway stores in Northern California and its Vons chain in Southern California — "and we're taking a pretty aggressive stance and actually filing injunctions against some of these individuals because our customers are just fed up with it," Susan Houghton, director of public affairs for the Northern California division here, said."We want to be community-minded, but what has happened is that it has become an industry. These are professional people paid to gather signatures."

The issue has been especially challenging this year, when various groups have hired people to collect signatures to qualify measures for the California ballot, paying them between $1 and $5 per signature. "In cases where we own our stores, they are trespassing on private property, so it's not an issue of free speech, and we're able to get injunctions," Houghton told SN.