Cerberus Capital Management, the private equity firm that owns Albertsons/Safeway, is still proposing to abandon Safeway’s promise to secure the pension benefits of 29,000 current retirees and another 30,000 future retirees. And while Giant has indicated a willingness to work with us to keep its promise to our retirees, there is a still a long way to go to get a fair deal that meets our goals.

In response, hundreds of Giant & Safeway shop stewards and members of the Contract Action Team held protests at three Safeway stores on Thursday to put pressure on the company to keep its promise to provide a secure retirement.

Now we are preparing to escalate our pressure on the company to negotiate a fair deal. We will not allow Safeway to abandon its commitment to retirees. Next week, we will announce a new series of actions to put pressure on Safeway to do the right thing. We need everyone to stay united and get involved while negotiations continue.