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King Soopers union sets first strike vote for Front Range stores, which could involve 10,000 workers

A group of members representing a supermarket union are seen talking amongst each other while holding up signs.
Tamara Chuang
/
The Colorado Sun
A crowd of largely union members attended a listening session to share their thoughts with federal and state officials opposing the pending Kroger Co. merger with Albertsons. The hour-long listening tour was held at Mi Casa Resource Center in Denver on Nov. 1, 2023.

Four days after their contract expired, the union representing thousands of King Soopers employees in Colorado on Monday scheduled the first vote to ask members to authorize a strike Jan. 29 in Westminster.

A second vote is set for Jan. 30 in Greenwood Village. More are expected. United Food and Commercial Workers International Union Local 7 said they’re starting in the Denver area because of the larger union presence and because that’s where contracts first expired Jan. 5. Negotiations were extended until Jan. 16 but King Soopers’ last offer was rejected Friday.

“They’re proposing wage increases that are not across the board. Not only are they inadequate, but they’re different based on the ZIP code,” said Kim Cordova, Local 7’s president. “The company is charging the same price to a customer but the workers are going to be paid less. That’s unacceptable to us.”

The company’s proposed wages — increasing up to $4.50 an hour over a four-year contract — would apply “to a very few select people,” Cordova said. Others would see much less, she said. Plus, she’s concerned about health benefits, inadequate staffing, competition from third-party vendors and worker safety.

King Soopers management had offered their “last, best and final” offer Thursday, adding 25 cents to boost pay raises for retail clerks by $1.50 an hour, among other changes. The grocer’s proposal expires Jan. 31.

To read the entire story, visit The Colorado Sun.