As union and grocery chain officials remained deadlocked on wages and pension benefits, 17,000 supermarket employees are working today without a contract after an extension of their last agreement expired at midnight.
Employees of King Soopers, and Safeway today, joined Albertsons workers who have been on the job since May without a contract.
“Consumers don’t have to worry, the fact that the contract has expired doesn’t affect whether people go to work,” said Laura Chapin, spokeswoman for the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7.
Contract negotiations have been going on since April, and the contract that expired May 9 was extended during talks.
King Soopers and Safeway submitted a final contract offer last week to union workers in Denver, Colorado Springs, Pueblo and other Front Range stores.
The grocers’ offer includes wage increases for long-time workers but not for those with less time on the job.
“They’re freezing wages for most of the workers. They have offered some increases to the folks at the top but most workers are going to be flatline,” Chapin said.
King Soopers spokeswoman Diane Mulligan said that 65 percent of the chain’s 9,900 Colorado employees would get the raise under the proposed contract.
Less experienced employees would continue to receive automatic increases already in effect that depend on the amount of time they have been employed.
The contract would also also increase the age at which employees could collect their pension from 50 to 55and require more employer contributions to the pension fund.
“Pretty much the contract is in their hands, and we are waiting for them to respond,” Mulligan said.
Tom McGhee: 303-954-1671 or tmcghee@denverpost.com
