Employees of Safeway and Albertsons in Estes Park, Fountain, and Pueblo, as well as staff at a Denver distribution center, are set to initiate a strike on Sunday morning. This action follows nine months of unsuccessful contract negotiations with the grocery giants.
The United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7 announced on Saturday that, unlike the February strike by King Soopers workers, which affected 77 stores, the current walkout will commence on a smaller scale, targeting just four cities in Colorado initially.
The union indicated that the strike’s expansion is anticipated, but the gradual approach aims to educate the public on the challenges faced by workers, give Safeway and Albertsons a chance to recognize the seriousness of the situation, and minimize the disruption for both shoppers and employees that could stem from a widespread strike.
UFCW Local 7 dismissed the latest proposal from Safeway and Albertsons, criticizing it for not meeting essential worker demands concerning staffing levels, fair wages, and adequate health and pension benefit protections.
Despite a contract extension granted in January and a strike authorization vote conducted in late May and earlier this month, both parties have failed to reach an agreement.
“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 employee from Fountain.
The labor dispute could escalate to include stores in the metro Denver area, including Boulder and Castle Rock, along with locations in Conifer, Evergreen, Grand Junction, Idaho Springs, Parker, Salida, Steamboat Springs, and Vail.
Next week, additional strike-authorization votes will take place for stores in Colorado Springs, Fort Collins, Greeley, Loveland, and Longmont, according to the union.
Should the strike expand to encompass all participating stores, it would become the second-largest walkout this year, following the February strike by roughly 10,000 King Soopers and City Market employees. That action lasted 12 days before being paused for 100 days to allow further negotiations.
This will be the first strike involving Safeway workers in Colorado over unfair labor practices since 1996, when they previously voted to strike in solidarity with King Soopers workers. Safeway had locked out its employees before they were able to proceed with the strike at that time.
The situation renewed attention after two female employees at a Safeway store in Denver were tragically killed by a driver who fell asleep at the wheel and crashed into a picket line.
Other significant strikes in the region this year include Alamo Drafthouse employees who protested following layoffs, and around 320 workers at Lockheed Martin who struck after rejecting the company’s contract proposition.
UFCW Local 7 represents approximately 23,000 members across Colorado and Wyoming, spanning grocery stores, packing houses, food processing, barbering and cosmetology, cannabis, counseling, and health care facilities, as per their website.
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