Judge partially grants limited King Soopers' restraining order amid Colorado workers' strike
On Friday, a judge partially granted a limited restraining order for King Soopers against the union representing striking workers in Colorado. The day before, the judge dismissed some of King Soopers' claims leveled against those on the picket lines.
The grocery giant filed a lawsuit in Denver District Court seeking a restraining order against United Food & Commercial Workers Local 7, the union representing striking workers across Colorado.
In court, King Soopers' attorneys said striking workers were engaged in "unlawful" activity and used "violence," accusing them of intimidating customers. The union previously called the lawsuit "frivolous."
Denver District Judge Sarah Wallace dismissed some alleged customer complaints about accusations of racist and sexist language as "hearsay." She released her ruling on Friday afternoon.
According to the ruling issued on Friday, the judge said that "peaceful labor protests and picketing are in the public interest" and the "court intends to protect the public interest."
It also stated that union members are restrained from impeding the way of delivery vehicles, erecting temporary structures, or piles of trash on the sidewalk in front of King Soopers.
The judge made the ruling after reviewing video security cameras provided by King Soopers.
"Regrettably, we've seen more than 300 instances of picketers making choices that compromise safety over the last 9 days. We appreciate the court's decision to grant critical elements of our temporary restraining order, that supports our commitment to safety for everyone," said Joe Kelley, President of King Soopers and City Market in a statement. "To be clear, the decision to seek a temporary restraining order was not made lightly and is certainly not intended to silence associates. We've said from the beginning that we respect our associates' right to peacefully assemble. However, it is crucial that we maintain an environment of mutual respect."
"Our ULP strike was announced after the grocery store members voted by 96% in late January and early February to authorize the strike. And then they have followed up their vote with 10,000 workers going out on strike and on picket lines to get the message of King Soopers' unfair labor practices to shoppers and the public," stated Kim Cordova, President of UFCW Local 7, in a statement.
The two-week strike began on Feb. 6 and included approximately 10,000 workers in total covered by the strike.
For adjusted hours at King Soopers locations in Colorado, click here. For those wishing not to cross the workers' picket lines, you can see several other grocery stores and local chains here.
