After six months of negotiations, unionized Colorado grocery workers at Safeway and Kroger Co.’s King Soopers and City Market chains will start voting on the companies’ “last, best and final” contract offers.
United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7 says ballots will be mailed Friday, and the voting process is expected to take two weeks.
The union local represents about 17,000 workers at the chains, plus Albertsons, whose workers are waiting on more contract talks. All the workers’ contracts expired in May. The 52-month offer includes signing bonuses ranging from $150 to $1,000.
The highest-paid workers would receive raises of 30 cents an hour the first year and 25 cents per hour in subsequent years.
Also, new workers wouldn’t have to wait as long to get health benefits.
