By George Anderson
Associates of Genuardi's Supermarkets held a labor rally at the Safeway company's headquarters outside of Philadelphia yesterday.
The protesting employees seek union representation with the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW).
Wendell Young, president, Local 1776 of the UFCW said, "Today's rally is just the start of the UFCW's campaign to allow Genuardi's workers to have the protections and rights that come with a union contract."
In a separate announcement, Safeway said it would participate in the Merrill Lynch Retailing Leaders Conference next Wednesday, March 19, 2003 at 12:00 p.m. (EST). It can be viewed live on the Safeway web site at http://www.safeway.com/investor_relations.
Moderator's Comment: Should an element of evaluating management performance include an assessment of employee morale and job satisfaction? Does Safeway need a change in leadership to deal with the company's challenges?
Safeway has been faulted here and elsewhere for being out of touch with the needs of its shoppers. It has a long way to go on the employee front, as well.
Ryan Mathews wrote in the January 2003 issue of Grocery Headquarters, "The problem isn't with workers - it lies firmly with management. People still want to work, but even in today's economy they have a broad range of options among entry-level jobs. In terms of top management, maybe we need to remember that the kind of people we want to attract are going to want to be able to put their own unique stamp on the industry. If we're not prepared to let them do that, we ought to at least stop being surprised that they opt out of working for us." [George Anderson - Moderator]