Despite signs that a showdown was imminent, Dominick’s management and the union that represents most of its employees may be headed back to the negotiating table.
A vote Sunday by thousands of Dominick’s workers, members of the United Food and Commercial Workers union, gave union leaders authority to strike if the new pay deal offered by Safeway Inc., Dominick’s parent company, was rejected.
A two-thirds majority was required to authorize a strike, and about 80 percent of union members voting Sunday night approved the proposal.
The union’s contract with Safeway expired Saturday.
“We are all going back to work tomorrow, and we [the union] will negotiate with management in good faith,” union spokesman S.J. Peters said Sunday night.
Safeway said Saturday that it would continue negotiations with the union but that its latest offer was final.
“We’ll talk but we’ve put on the table our last, best and final offer,” said Brian Dowling, a Safeway spokesman.
“The offer won’t get any better. We’ve had eight strikes in the last eight years and the offer has never improved after the strike. Safeway has stretched our offer to the limit and can’t offer more without causing the business to fail,” Dowling said.
