United Food & Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) Local 400 and Safeway both endorsed an initiative to legalize chain store beer and wine sales in Maryland.
“We believe this legislation will have merit. Anything that provides more living wage jobs will help those individuals, those companies and the communities that they serve. I view this as a positive,” said Mark Federici, president of UFCW Local 400, the largest labor organization in Maryland. UFCW Local 400 represents 35,000 members working in the retail food, health care, retail department store, food processing, service and other industries in Maryland, Virginia, Washington, D.C., West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee.
Safeway stores has also backed the drive. “[T]he coalition is encouraging legislators to allow stores like Safeway to offer customers the convenience of purchasing beer and wine while grocery shopping. And Safeway can’t wait to offer this added convenience to our customers’ shopping experience,” said Jim Perkins, president of Albertsons Mid-Atlantic division which includes approximately 60 Maryland Safeway stores, making it the second largest supermarket retailer in the state.