Calgary Openings, Closings, and Developments

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by iggy_oi

They’ll likely eventually convert them all once the brand is more established.

Nah, they're segmenting the market. Some of the Safeway's are getting renovated into higher end stores with large health food/vegan areas, renovated floral/meat case/etc

[Sr. Mints]

North Hill and Crowfoot Safeway were both recently renovated and remained a Safeway, Dalhousie is in the process of being renovated, and apparently it's remaining a Safeway.

I would expect them to convert more Safeways to Sobeys' before Freshco - if it were to even happen.

Some smaller, dumpier locations could eventually go FreshCo, like Thorncliff. But I can't see Crowfoot Dalhousie, Centre Street, etc.

[btimbit]

Renovating Shawnessy right now as well, but it'll stay Safeway

[calgarygeologist]

Originally Posted by Sr. Mints

North Hill and Crowfoot Safeway were both recently renovated and remained a Safeway, Dalhousie is in the process of being renovated, and apparently it's remaining a Safeway.

I would expect them to convert more Safeways to Sobeys' before Freshco - if it were to even happen.

Some smaller, dumpier locations could eventually go FreshCo, like Thorncliff. But I can't see Crowfoot Dalhousie, Centre Street, etc.

Bowness/Montgomery Safeway was also just renovated (I think they might actually still be completing the small finishing touches.)

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Mission Safeway is undergoing some work. Nothing major at the moment though.

[Jiri Hrdina]

Garrison also is having a major reno

[iggy_oi]

Originally Posted by bizaro86

Nah, they're segmenting the market. Some of the Safeway's are getting renovated into higher end stores with large health food/vegan areas, renovated floral/meat case/etc

I have a feeling that getting out of the Safeway employees’ union contract is also a factor in the decision.

[iggy_oi]

Originally Posted by timun

O_o

Very doubtful they'll convert all Safeway stores to FreshCo stores...

Time will tell but have they opened any new Safeways since acquiring them?

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by iggy_oi

I have a feeling that getting out of the Safeway employees’ union contract is also a factor in the decision.

So I was interested and looked into this. It turns out UFCW 401 will still be representing the Freshco workers post conversion, as they negotiated that into the last Safeway contract, along with various pieces for termination pay, transfers, etc.

The union and Sobeys went to arbitration where the arbitrator had to select one of their offers, and she selected the employers. I read the arbitrators decision and disagreed with much of her logic, and would have ruled the opposite way if I were the arbitrator.

That said, from the sounds of it I think the union and their council missed some key points. They should have presented more evidence about the differences in wages in AB vs the other provinces - the key issue was which contracts were comparable - Freshco in the other western provinces or safeway/superstore in AB. AB wages are higher across industries, and that should have been hammered home. Once the arbitrator selected Freshco west as the comparable the union had lost.

Interestingly (to me) the employer noted they are losing ground to discount retailers and specifically mentioned Costco. I would have hammered home Costco's wages as evidence that higher wages aren't excluded from a discount format with few SKUs - I suspect the union didn't want to do that because it draws attention to the fact that unrepresented Costco workers make more than basically any UFCW represented grocery workers.

Anyway, I agree there are savings here vs Safeway wage rates. I also think it's likely this will lead to decertification votes at Freshco stores. The contract is for up to 7 years and the part timers are getting minimum wage + an increment based on hours, which maxes out at less than a dollar over minimum, no employer paid benefits, and no guarantees on full timers at any store, and part timers can be scheduled for >32 hours during summer, December, Thanksgiving, or to cover absences of like 10 different types. Not much upside for those employees to be paying union dues out of their $15.10 per hour. The union specifically brought this up as a risk during the proceedings.

[lazypucker]

FreshCo is Safeway/Sobey's version of No Frills. They target the "budget" crowd who are not buying bulk at places like Costco.

I personally like No Frills better. Maybe because of the warm yellow lighting there compared to the sterile, hospital white lighting of FreshCo. Plus we are a PC Optimum family rather than a Scene / Co-op / Save-on-Foods points family. I do admit that Safeway/Co-op and such usually have fresher meats and veggies than the Loblaws stores, but they can't compete with prices though. FreshCo is trying to steal a piece of the budget-market here...

[iggy_oi]

Originally Posted by bizaro86

I read the arbitrators decision and disagreed with much of her logic

I’d be lying if I said that I was shocked by that assessment, it’s not always the case obviously but it’s far from uncommon.

That said, from the sounds of it I think the union and their council missed some key points. They should have presented more evidence about the differences in wages in AB vs the other provinces - the key issue was which contracts were comparable - Freshco in the other western provinces or safeway/superstore in AB. AB wages are higher across industries, and that should have been hammered home. Once the arbitrator selected Freshco west as the comparable the union had lost.

Hard to say what was specifically argued as often times many points brought up during a hearing aren’t included in the written decision, but this is probably a good example of why it’s best in some arbitration cases to make your ask a little lower than the comparables.

Interestingly (to me) the employer noted they are losing ground to discount retailers and specifically mentioned Costco. I would have hammered home Costco's wages as evidence that higher wages aren't excluded from a discount format with few SKUs - I suspect the union didn't want to do that because it draws attention to the fact that unrepresented Costco workers make more than basically any UFCW represented grocery workers.

I kinda doubt the last portion to be the case as Costco is known as a very pro-union company in the states and the biggest reason they aren’t as unionized in Canada is because they typically offer very competitive wages and don’t have a toxic workplace culture. Kinda silly for the employer to use Costco as a comparable since they’re really not their direct competition but if the arbitrator is gonna buy it they may as well try.

Anyway, I agree there are savings here vs Safeway wage rates. I also think it's likely this will lead to decertification votes at Freshco stores. The contract is for up to 7 years and the part timers are getting minimum wage + an increment based on hours, which maxes out at less than a dollar over minimum, no employer paid benefits, and no guarantees on full timers at any store, and part timers can be scheduled for >32 hours during summer, December, Thanksgiving, or to cover absences of like 10 different types. Not much upside for those employees to be paying union dues out of their $15.10 per hour. The union specifically brought this up as a risk during the proceedings.

I haven’t read their agreement to see what other benefits they receive but yeah that decision was clearly not ideal from the union’s perspective. Not sure how ufcw’s dues are calculated but at a little over $15/hour I imagine the employees are likely only paying between $30-$40/month of which they probably get around 1/3(if not all in a lot of cases) back at tax time so it may not be enough to really drive a decertification push. Time will tell I guess.

[timun]

Originally Posted by iggy_oi

Time will tell but have they opened any new Safeways since acquiring them?

In Calgary? I don't think so. Elsewhere? Yes. Off the top of my head I know there's a new one in Okotoks.

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by iggy_oi

I’d be lying if I said that I was shocked by that assessment, it’s not always the case obviously but it’s far from uncommon.



Hard to say what was specifically argued as often times many points brought up during a hearing aren’t included in the written decision, but this is probably a good example of why it’s best in some arbitration cases to make your ask a little lower than the comparables.

Fair point, I didn't see the presentations, only the decision. I do think asking for the a wage scale very similar to the current Safeway scale was too far of a reach.

Originally Posted by iggy_oi

I kinda doubt the last portion to be the case as Costco is known as a very pro-union company in the states and the biggest reason they aren’t as unionized in Canada is because they typically offer very competitive wages and don’t have a toxic workplace culture. Kinda silly for the employer to use Costco as a comparable since they’re really not their direct competition but if the arbitrator is gonna buy it they may as well try.

The only union Costco stores in the US are former Prico co stores, they bought them out decades ago and its less than 10% of the total. But a Costco part timer starts higher than the max part time wage on this contract.

The employer was quoted as saying they have to change strategies because they're losing market share to discounters including Costco. And they're also quoted as saying they have to have lower wages to make discounting work. Since Costco has higher wages there's a logical inconsistency in that argument.

Originally Posted by iggy_oi

I haven’t read their agreement to see what other benefits they receive but yeah that decision was clearly not ideal from the union’s perspective. Not sure how ufcw’s dues are calculated but at a little over $15/hour I imagine the employees are likely only paying between $30-$40/month of which they probably get around 1/3(if not all in a lot of cases) back at tax time so it may not be enough to really drive a decertification push. Time will tell I guess.

Yeah not sure. Probably not likely for a 100% part time staff to organize that to save a few bucks. I only mentioned it because the union specifically called that out as a risk to the employer offer, and noted they'd faced decertification drives in the other western provinces under similar freshco contracts.

[Jimmy Stang]

Beddington Co-op is closing in early March. On one hand, I'm surprised because I grew up in that area, and the Co-op is one of those places that you always assume will be there. Hell, I even remember when the current liquor store building was a Co-op hardware shop, and they had a small lumber yard around the back.

On the other hand, there is a Safeway right across the street, a Superstore just down the road in Huntington, and a Save On in Hunterhorn. T&T a short drive away too. And whenever I'm in my old hood, Co-op is rarely on my radar for anything except gas.

Apparently the gas station, liquor store, and cannabis shop are going to remain in some form.

[Wormius]

I always forget there is a Coop there, and at first I thought you meant the one on Beddington at Creekside. .

[calgarygeologist]

Originally Posted by Jimmy Stang

Beddington Co-op is closing in early March. On one hand, I'm surprised because I grew up in that area, and the Co-op is one of those places that you always assume will be there. Hell, I even remember when the current liquor store building was a Co-op hardware shop, and they had a small lumber yard around the back.

On the other hand, there is a Safeway right across the street, a Superstore just down the road in Huntington, and a Save On in Hunterhorn. T&T a short drive away too. And whenever I'm in my old hood, Co-op is rarely on my radar for anything except gas.

Apparently the gas station, liquor store, and cannabis shop are going to remain in some form.

I wonder how many more people would shop there from Harvest Hills/Country Hills if the city eliminated that stupid bus trap on Centre Street?

[Bigtime]

Originally Posted by calgarygeologist

I wonder how many more people would shop there from Harvest Hills/Country Hills if the city eliminated that stupid bus trap on Centre Street?

The City is going to phase out the last 7 remaining bus traps.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calga...tion-1.6540546

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by Bigtime

The City is going to phase out the last 7 remaining bus traps.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calga...tion-1.6540546

Yeah, but they're replacing them with gates and stuff. The NIMBYs who got Centre Street shut down are still winning, we're just changing the type of infrastructure we use for the pandering.

[MissTeeks]

Originally Posted by Jimmy Stang

Beddington Co-op is closing in early March. On one hand, I'm surprised because I grew up in that area, and the Co-op is one of those places that you always assume will be there. Hell, I even remember when the current liquor store building was a Co-op hardware shop, and they had a small lumber yard around the back.

On the other hand, there is a Safeway right across the street, a Superstore just down the road in Huntington, and a Save On in Hunterhorn. T&T a short drive away too. And whenever I'm in my old hood, Co-op is rarely on my radar for anything except gas.

Apparently the gas station, liquor store, and cannabis shop are going to remain in some form.

That makes me sad. It was my grandpa's favorite store when he was alive. He went to $1.49 Day there for years.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by bizaro86

Yeah, but they're replacing them with gates and stuff. The NIMBYs who got Centre Street shut down are still winning, we're just changing the type of infrastructure we use for the pandering.

I do wonder how bad it would be if they opened it up. A direct line from anywhere in the North directly into downtown? I suspect it would just be too much traffic, given how busy Beddington is at rush hour. Personally I would love if it opened, as my wife's aunt is north of it, and we always have to go the long way around. But I can see why the city won't do it.