An independent arbitrator has ruled the grocery union and grocery officials cannot wait a year in dealing with depleted pension funds to see if the market recovers.
The pension fund’s status had been a contested portion of ongoing negotiations among United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7 and King Soopers, Safeway and Albertsons.
The decision brings the groups back to the negotiating table.
“This will come down to the bargaining table and whether workers are offered a fair deal that rewards their contribution to the corporation’s profits,” said Crisanta Duran, associate legal counsel for the union.
The grocers have several proposals, which have been rejected, for reduced pension accrual and a change in the retirement age from 50 to 55.
“We believe (the arbitrator’s)award unequivocally affirms the reasonableness of Safeway’s pension offer to Local 7, which provides for a combination of both increased employer funding and selected reductions of benefits without undue delay,” said Kris Staaf, Safeway’s director of public affairs.
