Latest news with #grocerystrike
CBS News
05-07-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Unionized Safeway workers in Colorado reach tentative deal to end strike, union says
The union representing thousands of grocery store workers in Colorado and Wyoming says it's reached a tentative deal with Safeway to end a strike impacting unionized workers at around 50 stores across Colorado. United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7 says after bargaining negotiations, union representatives achieved several demands, which include wage increases, bonuses based on seniority, fully-funded and improved healthcare benefits, an expanded vacation cash-out policy, and terminating temporary replacement workers. The new agreement will need to be ratified in a future union meeting, according to UFCW Local 7, but the union celebrated the gains as a win. "We have reached a fully recommended tentative agreement! The strike is over," the union said in a statement on Saturday. Before the agreement was finalized, Safeway also touted the negotiations as fruitful in a statement on Thursday, in which a company spokesperson said, "We are pleased that we have reached a fully recommended tentative agreement with UFCW Local 7. This offer allows us to put more money in our associates' paychecks and maintain affordable health care; while also securing their pensions for retirement and we are eager for our associates to vote on it." A Safeway store during a protest against the corporation in Littleton, Colorado on Monday, June 16, 2025. AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post via Getty Images CBS News Colorado reached out to Safeway, whose parent company is Albertsons, for comment Saturday morning. The strike began almost a month ago in early June, following nine months of failed negotiations, a union representative said at the time. The strike had spread to 46 of Safeway's 103 stores across the state -- from Fort Collins down to Pueblo, and as far west as Grand Junction out east to Fort Morgan -- and included a distribution center in Denver. Those workers who went on strike must return by Monday, but can return sooner if they want or need to, the union said. The tentative deal comes just two days after unionized King Soopers workers reached a similar deal with that grocery chain.
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Safeway, Albertsons employees vote to strike as King Soopers negotiations stagnate
DENVER (KDVR) — Another grocery worker strike is in the works after UFCW Local 7 workers at Safeway and Albertsons Companies voted overwhelmingly in favor of the action — some stores voting unanimously in favor of the strike. No strike date has been set, although workers at stores along the Front Range and across Colorado have authorized the union action. The union is alleging unfair labor practices, and says that Safeway and Albertsons is 'holding hands' with King Soopers to try and cut workers' healthcare benefits. Former head trader of Denver-based investing company pleads guilty to insider trading 'Ontop of the concessionary proposals at the negotiating table, Safeway and Albertsons have gone back on their agreements,' said UFCW Local 7 President Kim Cordova in a press release on Friday. The union says the stores are understaffed and that the company is backtracking on an agreement for retroactive pay and benefit increases, which the labor union cited as an unfair labor practice. Bargaining between the union and the company began months ago, but on Sunday, the union said the two grocery giants are working together despite a failed merger that the two companies had proposed. In May, Albertsons provided FOX31 with a statement about its ongoing negotiations with the union. 'At Albertsons Companies, we are committed to productive discussions with UFCW Local 7. We respect the rights of workers to engage in collective bargaining and are negotiating in good faith to reach an agreement that is fair to our employees, good for our customers and allows our company to remain competitive,' the company stated. FOX31 reached out to Safeway and Albertsons for further comment after the strike votes confirmed the impending union action, but has not gotten a response. Earlier this year, workers at King Soopers went on strike for unfair labor practices. In a Facebook post on Sunday, the union noted that its negotiations with the company have not resulted in any new agreements, and the previous peaceful relations agreement that ended the strike in February will expire at midnight. The agreement's end was noted in a bargaining update posted to Facebook. 'More importantly, the Company is continuing to hold hands with Safeway/Albertsons to crush workers at both Safeway/Albertsons and King Soopers/City Market,' the union said in its post. 'These two grocery giants are colluding to ensure workers at both companies are left behind. These mega corporations are in the process of giving away over $9.5 billion to Wall Street fat cats, but are proposing low-cost contracts to workers in Colorado.' The union said it is pressuring both Safeway/Albertsons and King Soopers to address chronic understaffing, remove two-tier discrimination on vacation from the contract and address the night premium, which the union says has fallen below the rest of the Colorado job market. Union accuses King Soopers in lawsuit of violating agreement ending strike 'Safeway/Albertsons sat on the sidelines during the February King Soopers strike, but enough is enough,' the union wrote in its release published Sunday evening. 'If King Soopers and City Market and refusing to move because of Safeway and Albertsons, then workers at Safeway/Albertsons have no choice but to be a tag team partner with you and jump in to the fight!' The union replied to a comment on its Facebook page, asking if both camps of grocery store workers would be able to strike at the same time, clarifying that a strike of both groups of grocery store workers would be possible at the same time. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
