Thousands of grocery workers at King Soopers stores in Colorado are set to go on strike on Thursday, after failed contract negotiations following expired contracts in January. The United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7, representing about 10,000 workers at 77 stores, has planned a two-week strike to protest alleged unfair labor practices, low wage proposals, and staffing issues by the grocer.
The strike is expected to disrupt Super Bowl party shopping and Valentine’s Day for King Soopers and its customers. President of UFCW Local 7, Kim Cordova, stated that the strike aims to hold the corporation accountable for causing harm to workers and customers. King Soopers President Joe Kelley, however, denied the allegations of unfair labor practices and accused the union of stalling negotiations and taking extreme measures.
The grocer is reportedly hiring temporary workers and bringing in employees from non-unionized or out-of-state stores to prepare for the strike. The strike is set to affect unionized King Soopers stores in various counties across Colorado, with the timing for El Paso and Pueblo County stores still unclear. This strike could potentially be larger than the previous strike in 2022, which only impacted Denver metro area stores for nine days. The situation is ongoing and will be updated as more information becomes available.
