SEATTLE — According to a union leader, the new contract will keep workers’ health benefits and holiday pay intact, and there will be no freeze in pay.
A tentative agreement was reached last week, two hours before union grocery workers with national grocery chains would have gone on strike.
A strike would affect nearly 90 stores within a 15-mile radius of Seattle, including 20 Safeway stores, 40 QFC locations, 16 Albertson grocery stores and 12 Fred Meyer locations.
The three unions that negotiated together were UFCW 21 & 367 and Teamsters 38.
Negotiations with the big national chains started last March and continued throughout the summer and fall.