DENVER (KDVR) -- Workers at certain Safeway and Albertsons locations will begin striking on Sunday, in protest of what workers say are unfair labor practices, short-staffed stores, and frozen wages.
The strikes, which are being led by UFCW Local 7, will be limited to four cities on Sunday, but will expand as the strike goes on, the union said on Saturday.
The limited strike locations include Safeway and Albertsons grocery stores in Estes Park, Pueblo and Fountain, along with a distribution center in Denver.
“It’s too bad that things have come to this point with Safeway/Albertsons, but the ongoing unfair labor practices, including bad faith bargaining, as well as surveilling and threatening workers, have given us no choice but to strike", said Monique Trujillo, a Safeway worker from Fountain, Colorado, in a statement.
In May, Albertsons provided FOX31 with a statement about its ongoing negotiations with the union.
“At Albertsons Companies, we are committed to productive discussions with UFCW Local 7. We respect the rights of workers to engage in collective bargaining and are negotiating in good faith to reach an agreement that is fair to our employees, good for our customers and allows our company to remain competitive,” the company stated.
Strike to expand as it goes on
The union said starting the strike on a limited basis will give the public "time to understand the problems" that they argue the workers are facing and allow Safeway and Albertsons time to "understand the seriousness of the workers' resolve."
Starting the strike in a limited manner will also reduce hardships for shoppers and workers, the union said.
The union said it had hoped the recent vote to authorize the strike would have led to a "breakthrough" in negotiations, but that that "did not happen."
“I wish that Safeway/Albertsons had taken negotiations more seriously, obeyed the law, and respected the workers who make the stores run, but wishing doesn’t make it so,” said Kim Cordova, President of UFCW 7, in a statement.
Negotiations held on Wednesday did not achieve a "hoped-for agreement," according to the union, which said it then issued a 72-hour notice that night to begin a countdown to terminating the contract extension agreement.
Strike follows failed negotiations
The union said the strike comes after more than seven months of contract negotiations with the grocer in an effort to bargain a new contract, which UFCW Local 7 says had an original expiration in January.
UFCW Local 7 said Albertsons and Safeway — a subsidiary of Albertsons operating under the banner of Albertsons Companies — initially showed signs of wanting to reach an agreement, but, instead, "linked arms with King Soopers and City Market" in seeking concessions from workers and retirees on fixed incomes.
Free on Your TV • New FOX31+ App for Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV"Instead of working with the union, Safeway/Albertsons has instead put its faith in its supposed competitor King Soopers and City Market in an attempt to drive down healthcare and pension benefits for active workers and retirees alike," Cordova said.
Workers in metro Denver, Boulder, Broomfield, Castle Rock, Conifer, Estes Park, Evergreen, Fountain, Grand Junction, Idaho Springs, Parker, Pueblo, Salida, Steamboat Springs and Vail voted to authorize an unfair labor practice strike by 99%, according to the union.
The strike votes were held in late May and early June.
A region-wide strike involving at Kroger-owned King Soopers stores over unfair labor practice claims previously took place earlier this year in February. UFCW Local 7 said that, at that time, an extension agreement was in place with Safeway/Albertsons.
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