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Safeway.com drivers approve Teamsters contract

Union vote called a “first” for online grocery delivery drivers

Russell Redman

August 14, 2018

2 Min Read
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A group of 90 grocery home delivery drivers working for Safeway.com in the Seattle area have ratified a contract with the Teamsters.

This week’s vote is believed to mark the first time that truck drivers for online grocery home delivery have unionized and secured a contract, according to a spokesman for Teamsters Local 174.

Sixty drivers in Local 174 and 30 drivers in Local 313 became full Teamsters members with the vote.

“This is a great day for the Teamsters and an even better day for these Safeway.com drivers, who were the first in the country to organize and are now the first in the country to work under a Teamster contract,” Rick Hicks, secretary-treasurer for Tukwila, Wash.-based Teamsters Local 174, said in a statement.

The process began last September, when about 70 Safeway.com truck drivers had voted to unionize by joining Teamsters Local 174, which also represented Safeway drivers who delivered groceries to stores from the retailer’s distribution centers in Auburn and Bellevue, Wash.

At the time, Teamsters Local 174 noted that the union vote came at a key moment for the retail grocery sector, which had just seen e-tail giant Amazon close its acquisition of Whole Foods Markets. 

“This is not just a big win for these Safeway.com drivers, but this is a foot in the door for other organizing opportunities in this same industry in the future,” Hicks commented when announcing the vote for the union. “Home grocery delivery is a growing industry and, from this day forward, it is going to be an industry that includes the Teamsters Union.”

Local 313 later joined the union effort. This past June, the two locals had voted to authorize a strike due to what they said was slow progress in negotiations, but the parties ended up reaching an accord.

Along with wage increases, the ratification of the contract will bring access to affordable health care and a pension plan as well as better scheduling and safety improvements, among other benefits, Teamsters Local 174 reported.

 

About the Author

Russell Redman

Senior Editor
Supermarket News

Russell Redman has served as senior editor at Supermarket News since April 2018, his second tour with the publication. In his current role, he handles daily news coverage for the SN website and contributes news and features for the print magazine, as well as participates in special projects, podcasts and webinars and attends industry events. Russ joined SN from Racher Press Inc.’s Chain Drug Review and Mass Market Retailers magazines, where he served as desk/online editor for more than nine years, covering the food/drug/mass retail sector. 

Russell Redman’s more than 30 years of experience in journalism span a range of editorial manager, editor, reporter/writer and digital roles at a variety of publications and websites covering a breadth of industries, including retailing, pharmacy/health care, IT, digital home, financial technology, financial services, real estate/commercial property, pro audio/video and film. He started his career in 1989 as a local news reporter and editor, covering community news and politics in Long Island, N.Y. His background also includes an earlier stint at Supermarket News as center store editor and then financial editor in the mid-1990s. Russ holds a B.A. in journalism (minor in political science) from Hofstra University, where he also earned a certificate in digital/social media marketing in November 2016.

Russell Redman’s experience:

Supermarket News - Informa
Senior Editor 
April 2018 - present

Chain Drug Review/Mass Market Retailers - Racher Press
Desk/Online Editor 
Sept. 2008 - March 2018

CRN magazine - CMP Media
Managing Editor
May 2000 - June 2007

Bank Systems & Technology - Miller Freeman
Executive Editor/Managing Editor
Dec. 1996 - May 2000

Supermarket News - Fairchild Publications
Financial Editor/Associate Editor
April 1995 - Dec. 1996 

Shopping Centers Today Magazine - ICSC 
Desk Editor/Assistant Editor
Dec. 1992 - April 1995

Testa Communications
Assistant Editor/Contributing Editor (Music & Sound Retailer, Post, Producer, Sound & Communications and DJ Times magazines)
Jan. 1991 - Dec. 1992 

American Banker/Bond Buyer
Copy Editor
Oct. 1990 - Jan. 1991 

This Week newspaper - Chanry Communications
Reporter/Editor
May 1989 - July 1990

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