Thousands of Safeway grocery workers across Central and Northern California may go on strike Saturday if a new labor agreement isn’t reached by midnight Friday. The union, representing 25,000 employees, is demanding higher wages, improved health care and pension funding, and better scheduling protections. Negotiations with Safeway and its parent company, Albertsons, are ongoing with the help of a federal mediator. The potential strike follows tensions from a failed $24.6 billion merger between Albertsons and Kroger, which was blocked by a federal judge in late 2024.
See "Grocery workers threaten strike at Safeway stores in Central, Northern CA", Annika Merrilees, Sacramento Bee, July 25, 2025