A Teamsters strike against Safeway’s main distributor in Northern California will more than likely continue through the holidays after the distributor rejected the union's latest contract proposal.

According to the San Jose Mercury News, the Teamsters asked Summit Logistics to provide hourly pay, rather than pay per delivery, to drivers on routes within 75 miles of its distribution center in Tracy. The union said the change would make work conditions safer for drivers who currently face heavy Bay Area traffic.
The Teamsters also proposed that Summit offer warehouse workers an extra break near the end of their shifts, another change the union said would improve worker safety. Summit rejected both proposals and also announced that about 40 strikers left the picket lines and returned to work, the paper reported.
Summit President Martin Street said hourly pay, more breaks for warehouse workers and several other items proposed last week by the Teamsters would increase Summit's costs 15 percent, which he described as "unacceptable." Street also rejected a demand from the Teamsters that Summit rehire all strikers, including those involved in violence during the first several days of the strike in Tracy.
About 1,100 warehouse workers and 500 truckers have been striking the Tracy warehouse since Oct. 18. Summit operates Safeway's Tracy distribution center and is a subsidiary of U.K.-based Tibbett & Britten Group PLC.