Grocery workers from Winnipeg’s River and Osborne Safeway location describe being overworked, underpaid, pushed around, and exposed to violence with “no recourse.” The source of these problems? Workers say the company has no regard for their wellbeing.
On September 30, The North Star met with seven Safeway workers to learn about working conditions at the grocery chain. The workers spent much of the conversation explaining the company’s drive to cut staffing and hours. Workers say the cuts have taken place mostly through attrition: not replacing employees who are fired, quit, or retire. This has been especially the case for full-time workers, who previously occupied a sizable chunk of the workforce.
Workers say management has been making moves to drag the number of full-time workers down to the legal limit—around 15% of the workforce. “They don’t want to have full time employees, because if they have a bunch of part time employees, it’s less benefits they have to worry about and more time they can just shift people around to do whatever they want.” says Aaron, who has worked for the company for three and a half years.
The workers emphasize that the cuts affect every aspect of the work, not just the full-time staff. “New people get no training. They get no chances for help, and everyone [on the floor] feels broken down because we are not trainers. We don’t get compensated to train,” says Chase, who has worked at Safeway for 15 years.
Gary, another worker with 15 years’ experience at the store, described how even official positions often go uncompensated: “I was given an official position I don’t technically hold. The store manager likes to go around to upper management and be like ‘and THIS is our specialist,’ and I just have to go ‘Yeah! I’m not full time, I have no benefits, but y’know, I am that!’” he said. “I have all this supposed authority, this supposed respect, this fancy position, but I don’t get any of it. I just get told to work harder.”
Gary says directives from management are often out of touch with reality on the ground in the departments, where there is often so little overlap between shifts that workers do not have the time needed to give and receive necessary training: “So [that order] is just my job now. It's a lack of communication, but also, we are expected to just ‘handle it’ without expecting more for it.”
Bouncing off of this, Aaron described the unrelenting pace of work at the store. “No matter how much you work, it’s never going to be enough for someone above the person above you. Having seen the staff get literally cut in half, it’s frustrating to bust my ass,” he said. “We never get more, only less.”
Alexandra, an employee of five years, explained how workers in her department are often forced to juggle between two or more jobs. “I have to hop back and forth between different roles, and it is extremely stressful, but we keep being told we can’t get any more help … People get on each other’s cases over it,” she says. Alexandra says this situation is more than just stressful. Not getting the support they need to do their work creates hostility and division within the workforce.
“Division comes from too much work, too little pay, and running on a skeleton staff,” says Chase. “It’s like I’m picking up another job, and I’m not getting paid for it. Sure, the company saved a couple of bucks, but I didn’t make a couple bucks. That’s not right.”
Management Abuse
Workers told The North Star many stories of unheard complaints, unrealistic directives, and unfair punishments. All of this paints a picture of a company which is totally apathetic towards the people who keep it running.
One such account was given by Josh, who has worked at the store for five years. “A couple weeks ago, our freezers failed and our shelves were emptied. It was out of our control. It happened overnight. Nobody was in. Our shelves had to be emptied and thrown out, and nonetheless, the store manager came through and was like ‘Why are our shelves empty? This is unacceptable.’”
“If you try to explain, [management] treats it like you are the problem,” adds Aaron. “There’s no patience given to recovery.”
Speaking to the hostility experienced by workers at the store from both customers and management, Aaron explains that the job is “very disheartening,” characterizing it as a “cycle of yelling,” where “everybody is being yelled at.”
The workers say that the problems stem from management at the top, with the store manager being pushed to meet unrealistic standards by the company. “All these decisions are being made by people who haven’t been in the store in years.” says Josh.
Safeway management’s disrespectful attitude towards its workforce extends to the realm of workplace health and safety. Workers report that day to day they are exposed to all of the problems “people bring with them off the street,” including one case of a woman entering the store brandishing a knife, and that the company has done almost nothing to minimize the risks.
“Everybody here has a story of how they don’t feel safe. That’s not good. They shouldn’t have to feel that way,” says Chase. “There isn’t any recourse. There have been problems, and when you page for management it takes them a long time to show up. Sometimes they don’t show up at all.” adds Gary. Alexandra shared her experience trying to report cases of repeat sexual harassment by customers: “I [and another coworker] have experienced sexual harassment. I go to the store manager, and she goes to victim blaming. It doesn’t go anywhere.”.
Despite worsening conditions, the workers express optimism that change is possible. “We all just want better. And it’s there, the operational money is there,” says Chase, pointing to the combination of workforce cuts and rising sales as evidence of company profits. “A lot of us are sick and tired. We just want help or pay. We want to feed ourselves and work hard. That’s it. They can meet our demands easily.”
*Pseudonyms have been used to protect workers against employer reprisal