Strike ends, as King Soopers, union hammer out 3-year labor deal

DENVER — The nine-day King Soopers strike by United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7 members ended Monday, as management and the union were able to agree on a new three-year labor contract. 

The union hailed the deal, details of which remain fairly scant, as the “most significant wage increase ever secured by a UFCW local for grocery workers.”

Some workers will receive raises of more than $5 per hour, although most will get more-modest pay bumps. 

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“From the beginning of this process, we promised our members that we would procure the very best contract we could,” Local 7 president Kim Cordova said in a prepared statement. “We are excited that our members voted overwhelmingly to ratify this industry-leading contract that will ensure King Soopers will respect and protect essential workers as well as pay them fairly.”

More than 8,000 union workers from nearly 80 King Soopers locations throughout metro Denver and the Boulder Valley — including employees in Boulder, Broomfield, Louisville and Westminster — struck in demand of pay raises, the elimination of a two-tiered salary system that treats newly hired workers different from longer-term workers, job outsourcing to non-union workers and stronger health and safety protections in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Our goal since day one has been to put more money in our associates’ paychecks, and we are thrilled that our associates in the Denver metro bargaining area have voted yes on this offer,” King Soopers president Joe Kelley said. 

Union workers in King Soopers shops in Colorado Springs, Pueblo, Grand Junction and Northern Colorado are in the process of voting on a new contract this week. 

Strikes similar to those in the Boulder Valley and Denver have been considered should the parties fail to ratify a deal. 

The labor dispute has been an ugly one, with both sides suing the other and King Soopers successfully petitioning a judge for a temporary restraining order against picketers, who were accused of aggressive tactics. 

King Soopers brought in non-union workers to staff stores during the strike, some of whom were paid more than what was being demanded by the union. Private security was also used by the Kroger Co. chain during union rallies and picketing events.

Management also blamed strikers for its decision to delay the reopening of the Table Mesa store in Boulder, closed for nearly a year after a March 2021 mass shooting in the store that left 10 people dead. The union had cited this violent outburst, which occurred during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, as an example of management’s failure to properly account for employee health and safety. 

“Getting here has been arduous. Full credit goes to the bargaining committee and workers who made their voices heard through negotiating, standing united at the picket line, or sharing their stories with the media,” Cordova said. “This fight was always about them, and now they have a contract they deserve and can be proud of.”