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Unionized Colorado grocery store workers to begin two-week strike on Thursday

Two-week King Soopers strike to begin on Thursday
Two-week King Soopers strike to begin on Thursday 02:54

Unionized King Soopers employees in the Denver metro area announced a two-week strike that will begin on Thursday, Feb. 6, according to UFCW Local 7. That includes stores throughout Adams, Arapahoe, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas, and Jefferson counties as well as King Soopers stores in the cities of Boulder and Louisville.

Last week, some union employees at King Soopers voted almost unanimously to authorize a strike. The grocery chain in Colorado is owned by parent company Kroger. The workers voted by 96% to authorize an Unfair Labor Practice strike after being in contract negotiations since October 2024 and their contract expired in January. The strikes include approximately 10,000 workers at 77 stores.

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"These are serious charges against Kroger-owned King Soopers. They have, and continue to, break the law and are trying to force us to accept a new contract that takes us backward. That's not going to happen. Meanwhile, we have real problems with low staffing and low wages that make the jobs so bad that many of us can't even afford to shop where we work," said Connor Hall, a King Sooper employee in Boulder, in a statement.

UFCW Local 7 President Kim Cordova who heads up the negotiations and led the strike back in 2022 stated, "This strike is about holding one of the largest corporations in America accountable when they break the law and cause harm to workers and our customers. We are holding this strike for a two-week period to allow everyone to understand our concerns, and give the employer time to right their wrong."

Previously, Jessica Trowbridge with Corporate Affairs at King Soopers/City Market, provided this statement, "King Soopers continuously evaluates how best to invest in our business to stay relevant and defend against competition. Despite competitive challenges, we have worked relentlessly to maintain competitive prices. In fact, while most grocers have increased their gross margins, Kroger's family of stores have reduced theirs by 5% over 20 years to lower prices for consumers. This underscores our priority to appeal to customers with lower prices while still investing in associate wages and shareholder value. By balancing our investments across associates, customers and operations, we ensure King Soopers remains Colorado's grocer of choice." 

UFCW Local 7 said it represents 23,000 union workers across Colorado and Wyoming and nearly 12,000 of those workers are employed at King Soopers and City Market stores.

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