Raley’s Requests Federal Mediator for UFCW Contract Dispute

In an effort to resolve its current contract dispute with the United Food and Commercial Workers, Raley’s has postponed submitting its final offer and called in a federal mediator to begin facilitating an agreement as early as this coming Monday, May 7.

“Before we send our last, best and final offer to the union, I want to make sure we take the extra effort to give negotiations one last chance using a neutral third-party mediator,” said Mike Teel, West Sacramento, Calif.-based Raley’s president and CEO. “These negotiations have dragged on for seven months and it not only has impacted our business but caused a lot of unrest and worry for our employees. I want to do everything possible to reach an agreement peacefully for our employees because they do not want to have to make the decision on whether or not to go on strike in these uncertain economic times.”

A federal mediator is a neutral third party who works for the Federal Mediation & Conciliation Service (FMCS), which is a government agency that helps companies and unions reach agreements in contentious negotiations. With the involvement of the federal mediator, Raley’s will not be sending the union its final offer at this time. Though the contract between Raley’s and the UFCW expired on April 30th after five extensions, the wages and benefits for the company’s union employees will remain unchanged until a new agreement is finalized or its last, best and final offer is implemented.

“We are taking this step because time is of the essence and we must do what is best for the long-term interest of our company,” said Teel. “We invite the union to come to the table and negotiate in good faith before a neutral, third-party federal mediator.”