| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 7, 2002 |
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Safeway Targets Chicagoland Workers for Attack on Family Health Benefits Chicagoland Dominick's workers are the latest targets of the California-based Safeway Corporation's attack on family health benefits. The most profitable supermarket company in the country, realizing a 61 percent increase, from $1.6 to $2.5 billion, in operating profits over the past two years, has launched a systematic campaign to reduce or eliminate worker health benefits at the chain's 1,700 plus supermarkets across North America. Now corporate demands for health benefit cuts in contract negotiations at Safeway- owned Dominick's Supermarkets has brought the health care fight to Chicago, and could put nearly 9,000 area working families at risk of losing affordable, comprehensive family health insurance. As cover for its attack, Safeway is using "apples and oranges" comparisons to other operators which do not necessarily have the same sales and profit levels. In fact, Safeway has achieved record company profit over the past decade while providing workers family health benefits. Long term Safeway workers earning decent pay and benefits have been the key to Safeway's successful "superior service" program. Safeway workers make the service and the profit difference. For Chicagoland Dominick's workers it seems the Safeway takeover three years ago has undermined service and is alienating a loyal customer base. For 50 years Dominick's kept its customers and its workers happy while steadily producing profits. Now it seems to the Chicagoland workers that the West Coast retailer was more interested in squeezing a few more pennies in profits instead of maintaining the Dominick's tradition of customer service. Safeway cut about 20,000 customer service hours from the work schedule since the takeover. Now it is projecting declining sales and profits from the acquired stores, and is demanding that workers cover the cost of corporate mismanagement with health care cuts. In Pleasanton, California, however, the corporate executives have not reduced their multimillion dollar pay and benefit packages. Any problems facing Dominick's were created in the boardroom, not in the breakroom. Working families should not have to pay the price. Under the corporate proposal, the company would: - cut coverage altogether for an entire classification of workers; - pay less than half the cost of coverage for new employees while also cutting starting pay; and, - would shift the majority of cost increases onto current employees or force benefit cuts. On Sunday, November 10, 2002, Dominick's workers will vote on Safeway's latest contract offer. The workers, members of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) Locals 881 and 1546, are mobilized to fight back if necessary to save health care for themselves and future generations of workers. All UFCW Local Unions representing Safeway workers are asking members to vote for a temporary dues increase to fund a "FightBack" program to protect worker pay and health care benefits. According to UFCW International President, Doug Dority, "UFCW members will not allow Safeway to starve working families into submission. The FightBack program will provide the resources to keep the fight alive for family health care." On November 4, Safeway attempted to scare Dominick's workers with an SEC filing that said it intended to close all 114 stores should the workers vote to strike. Workers are not intimidated. UFCW members are voting to join the UFCW FightBack program, and are ready to stick together to save family health care. In response to Safeway's scare campaign, leaders of UFCW Local Unions from across the continent have traveled to Chicago in support of Dominick's workers. The message is simple: In a fight between family health care protection and excessive corporate profits, workers are going to fight for family health care protection. The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) represents 1.4 million workers in the United States and Canada, including approximately 150,000 Safeway workers. |
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