DENVER — On Thursday, King Soopers employees — a part of UFCW Local 7 — voted in favor of authorizing a strike.
The decision came after two consecutive days of six separate strike vote meetings.
The union says 10,000 King Soopers employees across more than 70 stores in the metro could be impacted.
Among those employees is Chris Lacey, a service manager at a Littleton King Soopers store.
"I for one am constantly being pulled to other departments to do the work of three to four and maybe even five people, depending on the day and the needs of the business," Lacey said. "What we need from King Soopers is for them to come to the table and talk to us in good faith and talk to us about staff and talk to us about safety."
"We've put across several proposals for safety, and they are not interested," he added.
However, King Soopers leadership disputes those claims, saying they want a resolution.
"This is way too premature. What the union leadership should be doing is putting the last, best and final offer in front of their members who they work for, our associates, and let them vote on it," said Joe Kelley, the President of King Soopers and City Market. "It's their decision on whether or not they want to strike, not the union."
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King Soopers employees across Colorado vote to strike: UFCW Local 7
In it's "last, best and final offer", King Soopers offered employees who are union members the following:
- Wage Change
- $4.50/hour over the life of the contract for Top Rate associates (excluding courtesy clerks), Department Heads and Pharmacy Techs
- Investment in Wage Progression Steps
- No Reset of Hours
- Healthcare
- Continued access to low-cost healthcare for associates and their families, providing stability and peace of mind.
- Secure Pensions
- Continued Company pension investment to ensure your retirement benefits remain stable and reliable.
- Committed Focus on Effective Staffing
- Expanding Joint Labor Management Committee meetings to include discussions about staffing concerns, creating a collaborative platform to address associate feedback.
- Enhanced Safety Measures
- Prioritizing associate safety by including workplace violence prevention as a topic for Master Safety Committee meetings and ensuring immediate in-store employee notification of public emergencies, like an active shooter or fire within 3 miles, when advised by law enforcement for a store location.
- Adding New Roles
- Adding new Sanitation Clerk and Hourly Manager roles to at least 20 stores over the next four years provides new opportunities for advancement.
It's the staffing Lacey says he's most concerned about.
"I run around like a chicken with my head cut off on fire," he said. "I'm a service manager. I run the single largest department in the store. I'm in charge of the cash room. I'm in charge of payroll. I'm in charge of the front end. I'm in charge of your customer experience as a customer, I am in charge of whether or not you have a pleasant experience in our store."
Kelley maintains a strike isn't a solution.
"Nobody wins in the strike," he said. "We continue to invest in our people, and we should, so this rhetoric around the last, best and final offer is unlawful."
"My biggest concern is the livelihoods and the pressure on their livelihoods that she's putting on our on our associates, her members, because they don't need to be outside with a picket sign," he added.
In January of 2022, thousands of King Soopers employees went on strike. Nearby businesses told Denver7 they also experienced a financial strain during the strike. Watch Denver7's coverage from 2022 in the video player below.
As King Soopers strike continues, nearby businesses feel financial strain
As for King Soopers shoppers, some told Denver7 they've been loyal to the store for decades.
"I usually look at produce when I come to King Soopers," said Autumn KayKay Nfaoui."In specific, they have better produce. If you don't want to pay a whole bunch"
While Nfaoui says she's never worked at a King Soopers, she told Denver7 she's supportive should employees decide to picket, and unsure if she'd cross a potential picket line.
"That's one of those situations where I don't know if, with tensions being high," she said.
UFCW Local 7 says the timing and locations for a possible strike will be announced at a later time.
Additional votes for workers in Colorado Springs and Pueblo are scheduled for Friday and Saturday. Those votes could authorize strikes in additional locations, according to the union.
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