DENVER—An arbitrator has sided with grocers in a dispute over a multi-employer pension fund for unionized Colorado grocery workers.
King Soopers and Safeway said an arbitrator ruled Monday that the status of the fund should remain “red” not “green,” which would have meant the fund was healthy enough to pay most of its liabilities.
The grocery chains argue that given the fund’s red status, cuts in workers’ pension benefits would be reasonable.
The companies are negotiating new labor contracts with United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 7. The union wanted to extend the fund’s green status for a year to allow the fund time to recover from a battered stock market without having to make cuts.
“Given the corporation’s profits, there is no need to make the kind of pension cuts they are proposing,” said Crisanta Duran, associate legal counsel for UFCW Local 7, in a written statement Wednesday.
Safeway quoted the arbitrator as saying it was “highly unlikely” the pension plans could retain green status simply through better investment returns.
Contracts for workers covered by UFCW Local 7 at Safeway, King Soopers and Albertsons expired May 9. During talks on new contracts, the sides have disagreed on raises and pension benefits.
