Union members plan to go on strike against King Soopers grocery stores in metro Denver, Boulder, Parker and Colorado Springs starting at 5 a.m. Wednesday after rejecting what the supermarket chain said was its best contract offer.
The United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7 announced Friday morning that the strike on what it says are unfair labor practices will last three weeks and involve approximately 8,400 workers at 78 stores.
Kim Cordova, the union president, said after negotiating for 17 hours on Wednesday, the union rejected an offer she described as full of concessions the company is seeking from workers.
King Soopers called the decision to strike “reckless” and “disruptive” and urged the union to consider the full implications for its members and Colorado.
“We think our associates should have a right to vote on the comprehensive best offer to settle, because ultimately it impacts their pockets, as does a strike,” Joe Kelley, president of King Soopers, said in a statement. “We know that a work stoppage creates a troubling position that often leads to financial hardships for our associates.”
However, Cordova said King Soopers employees have experienced hardships during the pandemic, including getting sick and struggling to make a living, while Kroger, parent company of King Soopers, has posted record profits.
“Grocery workers ensure that our communities have access to food, but they cannot even afford to feed their own families,” Cordova said in a statement.
In Colorado, two union-covered employees at Safeway/Albertsons grocery stores and five employees at King Soopers have died from COVID-19 since the pandemic began in 2020. Altogether, more than 2,000 employees for the two grocery chains have tested positive for the virus.
Grocery stores were deemed essential businesses early in the pandemic and King Soopers employees initially received an extra $2 an hour in “hazard pay.” The pay ended after a couple of months.
During the bargaining, UFCW Local 7 has criticized proposed caps on the amount of sick leave employees can take per year, changes in overtime, the outsourcing of jobs, health and safety conditions and wages.
Last week, the union filed a lawsuit in federal court that alleged King Soopers is using third-party staffing services to fill union-covered work.
The metro-area stores affected by the strike are in the following cities: Arvada, Aurora, Boulder, Broomfield, Centennial, Commerce City, Denver, Edgewater, Englewood, Evergreen, Federal Heights, Glendale, Golden, Greenwood Village, Highlands Ranch, Lakewood, Littleton, Louisville, Thornton, Westminster and Wheat Ridge. Stores in Parker and Colorado Springs also will be impacted.
It’s unclear how many workers might be on the picket lines at any given time.
King Soopers, the largest grocery chain in Colorado, has denied engaging in unfair labor practices. It said its contact offer includes $148 million for wage increases of up to $4.50 an hour in the first year and signing bonuses over the next three years.
The company, which also owns City Market stores in the state, added that it proposed additional money for health care benefits. King Soopers has been advertising for temporary replacement workers at $18 an hour in case of a strike.
“While we respect our associates’ rights to participate in this work stoppage, any associate who chooses to continue to work is welcome,” Kelley said.
Cordova said the pay King Soopers is offering to replacement workers is higher than what many of its employees make. The company’s contract offer proposed increasing the starting pay to $16 an hour.
The union is negotiating new contracts for its members across Colorado. The contracts for the stores in the Denver area, Boulder, Parker and Colorado Springs expire Saturday. Union members at the stores voted overwhelmingly Sunday and Monday to authorize a strike.
Contracts at other King Soopers and City Market stores expire later in January and February.
The union and Albertsons agreed Thursday to extend their contracts and continue negotiating. That company owns Safeway and Albertsons stores in Colorado.
The last strike by grocery workers in Colorado was in 1996. Union members at King Soopers walked off the job and Safeway and Albertsons eventually locked out union members. The strike lasted 42 days.