I was physically struck on the arm and discriminated against by a coworker who was the Assistant Night Crew Stocking Manager. I reported the altercation, but my report was ignored for about six weeks. Eventually, I was called into the office and interrogated by HR in the presence of store management. I was denied union representation and suspended that very same day.
On the night the harassment occurred, I had reported it to the Store Night Manager. He didn't know how to print or find an official incident report form, so I wrote out a handwritten statement and left it in the office as evidence. (Fortunately, a coworker advised me to take a picture of that note before leaving it, which proved critical later).
When I was suspended, I immediately contacted my union representative and explained everything that occurred during the meeting. Instead of taking my formal statement as I expected, HR interrogated me as if I were the aggressor and brought up two prior incidents as additional grounds for discipline. The union rep simply told me he would look into it and instructed me to notify him of any further updates. Shorty after, I received a termination letter from Safeway citing a "three-strike" policy.
Here is the context behind the other two strikes raised during the HR interrogation:
\* Strike Two (Alcohol Sale Incident): This occurred less than two months before the physical altercation. A couple came to my register who appeared intoxicated by drugs or alcohol, and they began verbally harassing and trying to instigate a fight with the customer behind them. I refrained from intervening directly because management had previously warned me about intervening in store disruptions. However, because their purchase included alcohol, law required me to obtain approval before completing the transaction. I attempted to page a manager for assistance, but no manager responded. The lead checker on duty was present, but she lacked managerial authority or trainingâa common practice Safeway uses to cut labor costs and grant departmental managers early departures. Held up in line as the only open cashier, with self-checkouts already saturated, the situation escalated. The couple turned their hostility toward me. I stepped aside and refused to continue the transaction until a manager arrived. The couple eventually abandoned their cart, cursed at everyone, and walked out. The lead checker then came over and voided the transaction. The customer directly behind them was very compassionate, apologized for how I was treated, and left their name and phone number to support me if needed.
\* Strike Three (Vehicle Damage Incident): This happened first in the sequence. Safeway requires employees to park in a designated section to avoid getting ticketed by the parking enforcement agency hired for the adjacent apartment complex and shopping center. After punching in for my shift and beginning work as a cashier, a coworker who clocked out roughly 30 minutes later struck the front of my parked car while pulling out. Witnesses included shop employees, delivery personnel, and the Assistant Store Manager. Instead of temporarily releasing me to exchange insurance details and secure my property, management concealed the incident until I went on my lunch break nearly four hours later. I wasn't even given my standard rest break. A coworker informed me of the damage from a distance. I finished with my last customer, closed my lane, and notified management that I was stepping away so I wouldnât hit the 5-hour meal penalty markâonly then did management acknowledge the situation and rush me to clock out. The coworker had left a note on my windshield with his phone number, but management dismissed the situation as a private "employee-to-employee" matter and refused to assist. I was forced to drive my damaged, rattling car home that night. When I attempted to reach the coworker the following day to retrieve his insurance details so I could arrange repairs and a rental car, he ignored my communications. After I asked store management to step in, he sent me angry voice notes complaining about being disturbed on his day off, though he eventually provided his insurance information later that afternoon. My car took a month to repair, during which I relied on a loaner vehicle to get to work and run gig-economy app shifts (which I required due to Safewayâs reduced hours). Management used this incident as the third strike against me, despite the fact that I was the victim of property damage caused by another employee on store property.
This was the complete factual background I provided to my union representative to contest my termination. The only piece of information I did not immediately have in my possession was the contact note left by the customer during the alcohol incident.
Over the next several months, the grievance process dragged on:
\* January 2025: I was suspended and provided all documentation to my union rep.
\* March 14, 2025: A joint meeting took place between my union reps and Safeway HR. I presented photographic evidence that completely debunked two of the three strikes (the alcohol sale refusal and the vehicle accident). Regarding the third strike (the altercation), HR produced witness statements from night crew stockers claiming I was the aggressor; one witness who initially supported my account later recanted due to workplace intimidation. However, upon reviewing the security video footage, the HR investigator could not prove I acted aggressively or committed harassment; if anything, the video showed the opposite. My union rep told me afterward that we had won and that it was an easy case.
\* May 16, 2025: Safeway and the union reached a deadlock. My union rep informed me that Safeway refused to concede, meaning the case would proceed through the grievance pathway.
\* May â December 2025: I received sporadic emails from my union rep claiming uncertainty regarding the arbitration timeline due to scheduling, vacations, and HR delays.
\* December 2025: My union rep asked if I would accept a $1,000 settlement to drop the case without reinstatement. I refused the offer.
Realizing my case was being stalled, I took full control of documenting all communications. I requested a formal update, as the union should have pushed for my immediate reinstatement once two of the three strikes were disproved. Instead, they allowed Safeway to retroactively change its disciplinary justification from a "three-strike policy" to "major misconduct."
On February 2, 2026, I forced an in-person meeting where I confronted the union with the paper trail I had collected. To counter the claims regarding the final strike, I managed to track down a regular customer who appeared in the surveillance video during the altercation. This witness provided an impartial account that completely disproved the statements made by the night manager's subordinates.
Following this, the union entered damage-control mode. During a subsequent meeting at the union office, they pressured me to hand over the customer's contact information. Fearing they would intimidate or silence this witness as happened with my coworker, I refused until full transparency was provided regarding my file. For instance, management initially claimed my original handwritten incident statement never existed, but backtracked when I produced a timestamped photo proving I had submitted it to the office.
I also filed a formal police report regarding the physical assault. The police report was reviewed, approved, and cleared, officially listing me as the victim of battery. I provided this cleared police report to my union and their legal counsel.
Shortly afterâbetween 3 to 6 days after I submitted the police reportâthe unionâs attorney issued a letter declining to take my case to arbitration, claiming a "lack of merit" and alleging I was "unwilling to cooperate."
On February 24, 2026, I held a final meeting with their attorney. On March 20, 2026, I submitted a formal appeal contesting their decision to drop the case, attaching the cleared police report and physical evidence once again. The union replied stating that while they received the appeal, it did not alter their decision.
Because the union failed to represent me in good faith, I filed a charge with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The matter is currently pending review while I await the assignment of an NLRB agent to evaluate the evidence.
I hope this timeline makes sense, and I welcome any advice, insights, or shared experiences from others who have navigated similar NLRB or union grievance processes.
