Safeway has come to an agreement with the United Food and Commercial Workers union which will lower the pay gap by one-third between it and non-union rivals such as Wal-Mart. Most of the cost savings will come from lower wages and benefits for new hires. Safeway?s profits have suffered since the California supermarket strike ended in February.
See "Safeway Sees Gains in Labor Pact", Melinda Fulmer, Los Angeles Times, September 8, 2004