[CRNMC] Safeway

[Susan Bradley]

Beth,
So sorry about your experience at Safeway,  but I am not at all surprised.  The manager at the Willits Safeway is on a power trip,  may be some kind of right-wingnut!   Perhaps he was abused as a kid or never taught that the United States  has a “democratic” form of government.  

You  might recall that  we were NOT allowed to table in front of   the WILLITS Safeway for Prop 37.   When Ellen Drell took over she and her crew talked to people in the parking lot  several days and stayed clear of Safeway employees.,  some of whom were supporting our efforts as I recall.
 I know  now that Safeway does not own the  area that is between the parking lot and the sidewalk/street which is why  Tom Woodhouse was allowed to put his signs there.    Perhaps they don’t own the parking lot also.    I don’t know that.   Just remembered another piece of the Willits Safeway episode.  They told you or someone to see the manager about tabling in front of the store.  SO  I did just that;   I went to the office and they gave me a form which I filled out with  time requests for tabling.   The   really disrespectful  and cruel part of this story is that when we showed up to table/collect signatures on the appointed day,  the manager  was waiting for us in order to kick us out!!!!! 

Barry Vogel said he would help  us fight  Safeway, but Pamm  Larry did not want  to stir the pot back then.   And since  the Fracking Ban  is a county issue,  I think  you and the rest of the Community Rights folks should discuss going any farther with  your concerns.  

ALL of that said,  the most interesting aspect of our   tabling work for  PROP 37 is that we were VERY WELCOME at the UKIAH SAFEWAY  (What does that tell you?)  We did not even have to tell them when we were there as long as we did not block the doorways.    Even the professional signature gatherers were allowed to  be at the UKIAH Safeway.  AND THE manager at the now bankrupt RAY’S  SUPERMARKET  was also MOST WELCOMING!  He  was also in support of labeling.   

BTW,  the manager at the Rite-Aid also let us table as long as we let him know when we were there.   


Susan
On Jun 14, 2014, at 6:54 PM, Beth Brenneman <storyteller2069 at gmail.com> wrote:

> Today at Safeway.  
> Patricia Norris had said no one would be at Safeway Willits between 1 and 3.  Debbie and i decided to drive 1 hr. 20 min. to Willits and get signatures...and then go shopping at Safeway after 3 PM.  We set up a tiny tv table with info at a pillar to the  south side of the propane gas machines.  There was already a table set up at the pillar right in front of the northern entrance/exit of Safeway.  They were the American Legion and they were accepting donations from customers going in and out of Safeway.  Within 20 minutes of our being there, the manager and the 2nd asst. manager came out to tell us to leave.  I asked if they were familiar with the Pruneyard vs. Robins Supreme Court decision and they said they would bring me a letter which stated we needed to leave.  The manager did, i read it and mentioned that the A. L. were taking donations which the letter forbade.  I said i disagreed with the letter and what was the next step.  The manager said that he would get Safeway's attorney on his cell phone and the attorney would explain why we had to leave.  This took more than a 1/2 hour to get the attorney; the attorney cited 2 cases that supported Safeway's position.  The attorney asked me if i was on Safeway's sidewalk or a public sidewalk.  I said i did not know whose it was; the attorney offered to google map it with the manager and they would tell me whose property i was on.  In the mean time, the 2nd asst manager was moving about taking pictures, etc.  We waited until after 3 pm and no manager came to show us google earth and their property.  We photographed the A. L. still there and smoking directly in front of the door.  About 3:15 we decided to leave since we are both sensitive to cigarette smoke.  I went in and found the manager and asked what happened to the google map that the lawyer had promised.  The manager said he didn't need it; it was Safeway's property!  I told him that we were leaving because his American Legion guys were smoking right next to the door and we could not be around cigarette smoke.  He replied sarcastically, "Have a nice day."
> It was 2 years ago that we WERE allowed to get signatures for Prop 37 (labeling GMOs) in front of Willits Safeway.  Now look!
> 
> Now i am partly writing this to share but also to document it.  I am open to comments about how to precede.  This said, i know very well that our rights as citizens are being taken away faster than 10 vultures on a deer carcass.  If i (or we) do nothing, we are giving up more and more.  Just look at the good Germans in Hitler Germany: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_they_came_...
> 
> I think something must be done.  So, any suggestions...
> Beth B
> "The trouble is that once you see it, you can't unsee it. And once you've seen it, keeping quiet, saying nothing, becomes as political an act as speaking out. There's no innocence. Either way, you're accountable.” Arundhati Roy
> 

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