UPDATE | Contract negotiations between Safeway workers, represented by United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7 leaders, and company executives have been extended to January 24.
DENVER — Saturday marked another day of nonstop bargaining between Safeway workers, represented by leaders of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7, and company executives.
‘’We remain far apart even though we’re due to expire at 12:01 tomorrow morning,” said union president Kim Cordova when she spoke to Denver7 Saturday afternoon.
As Denver7 first reported on Friday, UFCW 7 agreed to a two-week contract extension with King Soopers executives as bargaining for those contracts continues.
Bargaining is now set to continue until the new deadline of January 16.
In 2022, Kroger and Albertsons announced an agreement to merge. However, U.S. District Court Judge Adrienne Nelson issued a preliminary injunction blocking the merger last month following a three-week hearing in Portland, Oregon.
Then Judge Marshall Ferguson in Seattle issued a permanent injunction barring the merger in Washington after concluding it would lessen competition in the state and violate Washington’s consumer-protection laws.
Albertsons filed a lawsuit against Kroger, alleging it didn't do enough to secure regulatory approval for the $24.6 billion agreement.
Cordova told Denver7 that the failed Kroger-Albertsons merger came at consumers’ expense, leading to long lines and empty shelves.
“Our members have suffered significant reductions in hours and staffing in their store to pay for what’s now a failed merger,” she said.
Union leaders expect to continue negotiating with company executives through Saturday night. They could reach a deal to extend contracts with union leaders, much like what happened with King Soopers on Friday.
Safeway union workers’ contracts in Wyoming and along the Western Slope will not expire until February.
However, on the Front Range, where the vast majority work, contracts will expire at 12:01 a.m. Sunday. That means Safeway union workers in the greater Denver metro could go on strike in the next few days.
“The soonest we could strike would be once we have a vote. We could vote as soon as [Sunday] if we wanted to. It really depends on what kind of progress we see today,” said Cordova.
According to our partners at the Denver Post, Albertsons, the parent company of Safeway, said it is in negotiations with the union and did not have further comment.
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