Puget Sound area grocery workers casting ballots on new contract offer

Puget Sound area grocery workers are casting their ballots Tuesday and Wednesday on a new contract that was agreed to at the last minute before a threatened strike.

It came down to the wire. A team of union leaders and over two dozen grocery workers reached a tentative agreement with major stores less than two hours before a walkout.

Union spokesman Tom Geiger says the recommended agreement was approved unanimously by the union team.

“It’s a really representative group of those 30,000 workers. They gave us an all-around-the-board thumbs up unanimous recommendation. I think that in a way, speaks for itself.”

The workers across the area are expected to ratify the agreement with QFC, Safeway, Albertsons, and Fred Meyer. Terms of the new contract have not been publicly released. Among the issues were cuts to health insurance and other benefits and wages.

The results of the vote and contract details will be announced Thursday, Geiger says.

“Everybody’s different, so they need to come see what the proposal is and what they feel about it and vote,” he says. “Turnout has been high, people seem excited. We worked hard to negotiate what we think is a good contract.”