Union members kicked off a two-week strike of King Soopers stores across metro Denver early Thursday morning to protest what they say were unfair labor practices during contract negotiations.
About 10,000 employees of the supermarket chain walked off the job at 77 stores in Adams, Arapahoe, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas and Jefferson counties, as well as in Boulder and Louisville. The union put up picket lines.
Union members at the two King Soopers stores in Pueblo planned to follow suit at 5 a.m. Friday. Union members in Colorado Springs also voted last week to authorize a strike, but one hasn’t been scheduled for those stores yet.
Six days in, King Soopers strike marked by flurry of complaints, legal actions
"Some of us had hoped in the last week that maybe the employer would come to see the light and change their illegal behaviors, particularly after the overwhelming vote to strike," said Reyna Carpenter, a seafood manager with King Soopers in Pueblo, during a news conference Thursday.
Members of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7 in metro Denver, Colorado Springs and Pueblo voted last week to authorize strikes. Union officials said at least 95% of the workers voting backed the strike. Asked how many members of the union voted, UFCW Local 7 president Kim Cordova said it was "standing room only."
The union called for the votes after contract negotiations broke down and its contracts with King Soopers expired Jan. 17.
Cordova, Carpenter and other speakers spoke at a news conference at noon Thursday in the parking lot of the Safeway store directly across the street from a King Soopers store in east Denver. Picketers in front of King Soopers waved signs at drivers and encouraged shoppers to go to Safeway.
Fred Minjarez is a regular King Soopers customer and usually goes to the store next door to the Safeway. Thursday morning, he was loading groceries into the trunk of his car in the Safeway lot.
"I support the strike, otherwise I'd shop across the street," Minjarez said. "I support people trying to get a little more to live. It's not easy."
Minjarez said trying to help the workers is worth shopping elsewhere for a couple of weeks.
The union is also in contract negotiations with Safeway, owned by Albertsons.
King Soopers expressed disappointment with what it called "a premature strike," but said it will continue to provide the community with access to food and pharmacy services.
“We have a responsibility to our associates and communities to ensure they have access to fresh food and other essentials,” King Soopers President Joe Kelley said in a statement.
Kelley has said the union should allow workers to vote on what King Soopers called its "last, best and final offer." The company said the proposal includes a $180 million investment in additional wages and a $4.50 wage increase over the four-year contract for employees at the top of the pay scale.
But Cordova said the entire offer is illegal because it contains a provision that would unlawfully divert $8 million in retiree health benefit funds to pay for wage increases. Unfair labor practice claims filed by the union include allegations that the company has illegally interrogated union members about bargaining; surveilled members in discussions with union staff; and hasn't provided information they need to make or consider contract proposals.
Another complaint stems from a 2022 strike against King Soopers. A lawsuit by Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser to block the now-abandoned merger between Kroger, King Soopers' parent company, and Albertsons includes allegations of a "no-poach" agreement between the grocery rivals.
Weiser said records show that Albertsons agreed not to hire any King Soopers employees or solicit any of its pharmacy customers during the 2022 strike. The companies have denied the claims.
Cordova said the union's No. 1 issue is what it considers inadequate staffing. She said the company hasn't turned over the information the union needs to write a proposal to increase staffing levels.
"Workers are being asked to do the jobs of two, three four workers and customers see this lack of staffing in the form of long lines, empty shelves, shuttered departments like delis or meat counters and bakeries," Cordova said.
Employees don't have the time to update price tags in the store, resulting in shoppers sometimes paying more than they should at the register, Cordova said.
In a recent interview, Kelley disputed that staffing is inadequate, saying King Soopers has more employees than it did three years ago. A coalition of UFCW locals said an analysis of Kroger's labor hours between 2019 and 2023 dropped 13.8% nationally and 18% in Colorado.
King Soopers has filed unfair labor practice complaints against UFCW Local 7 that accuse the union of delaying negotiations, not bargaining in good faith and engaging in unlawful threats of physical harm through social media. The company has said it has responded to numerous requests from the union for data.
Asked about King Soopers' statement that the strike's timing is strategic because the Super Bowl is this weekend and Valentines Day is next week, both high-business occasions, Cordova said, "Absolutely, because the only thing they understand is their profit."
Cordova said the two-week strike could be extended if there's no progress in negotiations. Strike votes could also be scheduled for union members at City Market stores in western Colorado. Cincinnati-based Kroger also owns City Market.
And votes could be scheduled for King Soopers workers in Longmont, Fort Collins and Loveland when their contracts expire Feb. 15.
King Soopers said it is committed to keeping all stores open during the work stoppage, with affected locations running on temporary hours.
The affected stores will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. King Soopers pharmacies at those locations will operate Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., closing daily for lunch 1-1:30 p.m. The pharmacies will be closed Sundays.
King Soopers has hired about 1,500 temporary workers to fill in during the strike. The company said stores in the following areas won't be affected by the strike and will maintain regular store and pharmacy hours: Bennett, Brighton, Castle Rock, Colorado Springs, Conifer, Erie, Firestone, Fort Collins, Greeley, Longmont, Loveland, Pueblo, Windsor and Cheyenne, Wyo.
Updated July 7, 2025, to correct that about 10,000 King Soopers went on strike while an unknown number walked the picket lines.
The last strike against Denver-area King Soopers stores was in January 2022. That walkout lasted 10 days.
Updated Feb. 7, 2025, at 9:15 a.m. to add details.
Colorado King Soopers stores where workers are on strike
Arvada
• 12350 W. 64th Ave., Arvada 80004
• 14969 Candelas Parkway, Arvada 80007
• 15200 W. 64th Ave., Arvada 80007
• 6350 Sheridan Blvd., Arvada 80003
• 8031 Wadsworth Blvd., Arvada 80005
• 8055 Sheridan Blvd., Arvada 80003
• 9731 W. 58th Ave., Arvada 80002
Aurora
• 1155 S. Havana St., Aurora 80012
• 15109 E. Colfax Ave., Aurora 80011
• 15250 E. Mississippi Ave., Aurora 80012
• 17000 E. Iliff Ave., Aurora 80013
• 18221 E. Hampden Ave., Aurora 80013
• 19711 E. Smoky Hill Road, Aurora 80015
• 3050 S. Peoria St., Aurora 80014
• 4271 S. Buckley Road, Aurora 80013
• 6412 S. Parker Road, Aurora 80016
• 655 Peoria St., Aurora 80010
Boulder
• 1650 30th St., Boulder 80302
• 3600 Table Mesa Drive, Boulder 80303
• 6550 Lookout Road, Boulder 80301
Broomfield
• 1150 U.S. 287, Broomfield 80020
• 12167 Sheridan Blvd., Broomfield 80020
• 2355 W. 136th Ave., Broomfield 80023
Centennial
• 5050 E. Arapahoe Road, Centennial 80122
• 7575 S. University Blvd., Centennial 80122
• 8200 S. Holly St., Centennial 80122
Commerce City
• 15051 E. 104th Ave., Commerce City 80022
• 4850 E. 62Nd Ave., Commerce City 80022
Denver
• 10406 Martin Luther King Blvd., Denver 80238
• 1155 E. 9th Ave., Denver 80218
• 1331 N. Speer Blvd., Denver 80204
• 1355 Krameria St., Denver 80220
• 18605 Green Valley Ranch Blvd., Denver 80249
• 1950 Chestnut Place, Denver 80202
• 2727 W. Evans Ave., Denver 80219
• 2750 S. Colorado Blvd., Denver 80222
• 2810 Quebec St., Denver 80207
• 3100 S. Sheridan Blvd., Denver 80227
• 5125 W. Florida Ave., Denver 80219
• 6470 E. Hampden Ave., Denver 80222
• 825 S. Colorado Blvd., Denver 80222
• 890 S. Monaco Parkway, Denver 80224
Edgewater
• 1725 Sheridan Blvd., Edgewater 80214
Englewood
• 101 Englewood Parkway, Englewood 80110
• 3495 S. University Blvd., Englewood 80113
• 5050 S. Federal Blvd., Englewood 80110
Evergreen
• 1173 Bergen Parkway, Evergreen 80439
Federal Heights
• 1575 W. 84th Ave., Federal Heights 80221
Glendale
• 4600 Leetsdale Drive, Glendale 80246
Golden
• 17171 S. Golden Road, Golden 80401
Greenwood Village
• 4910 S. Yosemite St., Greenwood Village 80111
• 6000 S. Holly St., Greenwood Village 80111
Highlands Ranch
• 2205 W. Wildcat Reserve Parkway, Highlands Ranch 80129
• 4000 Red Cedar Drive, Highlands Ranch 80126
• 8673 S. Quebec St., Highlands Ranch 80126
• 9551 S. University Blvd., Highlands Ranch 80126
Lakewood
• 12043 W. Alameda Parkway, Lakewood 80228
• 1545 S. Kipling Parkway, Lakewood 80232
• 1555 Quail St., Lakewood 80215
• 1927 S. Wadsworth Blvd., Lakewood 80221
• 7984 W. Alameda Ave., Lakewood 80226
Littleton
• 100 Littleton Blvd., Littleton 80120
• 11747 W. Ken Caryl Ave., Littleton 80127
• 6760 S. Pierce St., Littleton 80128
• 7901 S. Broadway, Littleton 80122
• 8126 S. Wadsworth Blvd., Littleton 80128
• 9800 W. Belleview Ave., Littleton 80123
Louisville
• 1375 S. Boulder Road, Louisville 80027
Parker
• 12959 S. Parker Road, Parker 80134
• 17031 Lincoln Ave., Parker 80134
• 17761 Cottonwood Drive, Parker 80134
Thornton
• 3801 E. 120th Ave., Thornton 80241
• 750 E. 104th Ave., Thornton 80229
Westminster
• 10351 N. Federal Blvd., Westminster 80260
• 9983 N. Wadsworth Parkway, Westminster 80030
Wheat Ridge
• 3400 Youngfield St., Wheat Ridge 80033
• 3817 Sheridan Blvd., Wheat Ridge 80033
