BALTIMORE, MA - Safeway and Giant Food have struck a deal with the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union that will result in a minimum wage boost and avert a possible strike.

The UFCWIU covers nearly 17,000 employees, with the contract signed by both retailers involving the UFCW Local 27, according to news source Baltimore Sun. This particular chapter covers the Baltimore area and the UFCW Local 400, with workers elsewhere in Maryland, northern Virginia, and Washington.

"Throughout negotiations, our goal was to reach an agreement that ensures our associates continue to be among the highest compensated grocery workers in the Baltimore-Washington area, while also positioning Giant Food to remain competitive in a challenging marketplace," Giant Food President Gordon Reid said in an announcement Wednesday, according to the report.

Had the agreements not been reached last Friday, November 11, union workers could have gone on strike in the region.

The new labor contracts, Safeway officials said in a statement that same Wednesday, are a three-year agreement to go into effect immediately, boost all starting wages to $9 an hour.

Giant Food officials said in a statement that workers also agreed to the three-year agreement taking effect immediately.

About 11,000 of Safeway’s workers in Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, and Washington are unionized workers.

Giant Food Safeway