Union employees at King Soopers grocery stores in metro Denver and parts of Boulder County will go on strike for two weeks starting 5 a.m. Thursday after failing to reach an agreement on a new contract with the supermarket chain.
The strike includes all unionized stores in Adams, Arapahoe, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas and Jefferson counties, as well as in Boulder and Louisville, United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7 announced Monday morning. The action will affect 77 stores and involve about 10,000 employees.
King Soopers workers in the Denver area voted late last week to authorize a strike.
Employees in Colorado Springs and Pueblo voted Friday and Saturday to authorize a strike. The union didn’t announce when employees there might walk off the job.
“Initially, the focus will be on this first wave and getting those picket lines established,” said Kim Cordova, president of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7. “And then we may move south as well as west.”
The union said it is working on scheduling strike-authorization votes at City Market stores in western Colorado. Cincinnati-based Kroger owns King Soopers and City Market.
Cordova has said staffing is one of the major issues for employees. Staffing levels and funding for health care benefits are among the issues that led union bargainers to reject what King Soopers called its “last, best and final offer.”
“This strike is about holding one of the largest corporations in America accountable when they break the law and cause harm to workers and our customers,” Cordova said in a statement Monday. “We are holding this strike for a two-week period to allow everyone to understand our concerns, and give the employer time to right their wrong.”
The union’s contracts with the company expired Jan. 17.
The union has accused King Soopers of unfair labor practices, including refusing to provide information necessary for the union to be able to make or consider proposals in contract negotiations. Cordova said the UFCW Local 7 is protesting what it considers illegal actions during negotiations.
King Soopers has denied the claims. The company has called on the union to allow employees to vote on that negotiators rejected.
“We urge Local 7 to reconsider their approach and prioritize the best interests of our associates,
their members, and the communities they serve,” King Soopers President Joe Kelley said in a statement. “We want to make a fair investment in our union associates and this
work stoppage only further delays adding more money to their paychecks.”
The company has said its proposed contract “includes significant wages investments, along with industry-leading health care and a secure pension.” King Soopers said Monday that the union hasn’t responded with a wage proposal of its own.
Conor Hall, a deli clerk in a Boulder King Soopers, disputed the company’s argument that a strike vote was premature because union members haven’t had a chance to vote on it. Hall, a member of the bargaining committee, said the bargaining sessions are open to all members and the proposal has been available.
“You don’t approve a strike vote at 95% if you want to vote on the contract,” said Hall, referring to the results of last week’s votes by union members.
Cordova and Hall said King Soopers has paired workers hired by an out-of-state temporary staffing agency with non-union employees to fill in during the strike. “People are remarking that this is the first time they feel like they’re really able to get their work done,” Hall said.
King Soopers said in a statement last week that it was hiring temporary workers not to replace employees, but to keep the stores open during the labor action.
The last strike against Denver-area King Soopers stores was in January 2022. That walkout lasted 10 days.
The union also is in contract talks with Albertsons, which owns Safeway.
This story was updated Feb. 2, 2025, at 5:23 to add comment from King Soopers.
