Last updated on January 25th, 2016 at 02:26 pm
Teamsters union leaders, Maryland officials and representatives of Safeway have reached an agreement to stop the closure of Safeway’s Collington distribution center in Prince George’s County. The agreement will save more than 700 Teamster warehouse jobs and add an additional 25 jobs at the center. The agreement also paves the way for possible expansion in the future as Safeway’s parent company, Albertsons, continues to grow its footprint on the East Coast.
C&S Wholesale Grocers, the firm that operates the Safeway distribution center and employs its workers, originally planned to move its warehouse operations to Pennsylvania, which would have displaced more than 700 workers, most of whom live in Prince George’s County.
Under the terms of the agreement, Safeway will take over operations of the Collington distribution center, and current C&S employees—represented by Teamsters Locals 730 and 639 in Washington, D.C.—will become Safeway employees.
In two separate votes, Teamsters members voted overwhelmingly in favor of an agreement that preserves their jobs. The new collective bargaining agreement with Safeway guarantees no outsourcing of jobs during the term of the contract, which expires in May 2022.
Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa called upon Robert Miller, CEO of Albertsons Cos. Inc., which recently acquired Safeway, to enact a moratorium on the closures. Maryland State Sen. C. Anthony Muse and former State Delegate Aisha Braveboy also urged C&S and Safeway to recall the notices sent to employees stating that layoffs would begin the week before Christmas. The layoff notices were delayed until mid-February, allowing time for all parties to work together to find an alternative to the closure.
“This agreement allows skilled employees to continue to work for a company that they loved and sacrificed for, some for more than 30 years,” said Ritchie Brooks, president of Local 730. “The key to this is that everyone banded together. Labor, political leaders and the community all came together to show Safeway our solidarity.”
Local and state officials have pledged nearly $1.5 million in financial incentives to keep the warehouse in the county through the term of the collective bargaining agreement.
