DENVER (KDVR) — The bargaining committee for Safeway and Albertsons Company union workers in Colorado decided Wednesday to terminate their current contract extension, allowing a strike as early as Sunday morning.
The move comes on the heels of UFCW Local 7 union members overwhelmingly voting to approve strike action for unfair labor practices, with union members repeatedly noting chronic understaffing at stores.
Safeway, Albertsons employees vote to strike as King Soopers negotiations stagnateThe union says that Safeway and Albertsons are “holding hands” with King Soopers to try and cut workers’ healthcare benefits, saying earlier this week that the company is backtracking on an agreement for retroactive pay and benefit increases, which the labor union cited as an unfair labor practice.
“We took this decision very seriously and concluded that after so many months of bargaining, Safeway/Albertsons was giving us no choice but to further escalate our contract campaign,” said Ivan Lopez, a Safeway distribution center worker in Denver. His comments were provided in a union press release.
“We’d been clear since last fall that we needed them to address staffing, poverty-level wages, and ensure that workers health and pension benefits remain fully funded," Lopez continued. "Unfortunately, the company responded with unfair labor practices like refusing to negotiate fairly and threatening workers. The Company was unwilling to reach a compromise, so the countdown will now begin towards a potential unfair labor practice strike.”
The contract extension agreement had a 72-hour notice requirement before it could be terminated, and that notice was given Wednesday at 7:24 p.m. That means there are three days until there is no contract in place and a strike could begin.
No official strike date has been set.
“For months now, Safeway/Albertsons have been holding hands with their supposed competitor King Soopers and City Market by proposing workers take concessions on healthcare and retirement, while continuing to refuse to take meaningful steps to address chronic understaffing in grocery stores. These companies are even proposing to take benefits from retirees on fixed incomes. Workers have seen the billions of dollars in stock buybacks these two mega corporations have authorized in recent months on the back of record profits. These companies can afford to do better,” said Kim Cordova, President of UFCW Local 7, in the union's announcement Wednesday.
The union has repeatedly said that Colorado grocery stores are chronically understaffed, and said that it has created an environment wherein workers cannot feed their families, but also impacts consumers. Recently, a report detailed deceptive pricing practices in grocery stores across the U.S.
Earlier this year, workers at King Soopers went on strike for unfair labor practices that lasted for 10 days. The union said it is pressuring both Safeway/Albertsons and King Soopers to address chronic understaffing, remove two-tier discrimination on vacation from the contract and address the night premium, which the union says has fallen below the rest of the Colorado job market.
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