Workers affiliated with several major supermarket chains have approved strikes, with one set to take to the picket lines tomorrow, potentially causing even more chaos at the grocery store.
As shoppers try to dodge inflated prices caused by tariffs and disruptions from cyberattacks on distributors, another potential hurdle is brewing: looming strikes at several grocery store chains.
Weeks ago, Parade reported how union Kroger drivers at one fulfillment center in Georgia “overwhelmingly” voted to authorize a strike, and now we’ve learned unions in several other states have either approved to strike or already planned one.
Union employees at Albertsons and Safeway (which is owned by Albertsons) in Estes Park, Fountain and Pueblo, Colo., are taking to the picket lines on Sunday morning, according to the Denver Post. It comes after United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 7 rejected the latest offer from Safeway and Albertsons, claiming it failed to address key demands for staffing, livable wages and the protection of workers’ health and pension benefits.
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The outlet said that the strike could expand to other stores in metro Denver, including Boulder and Castle Rock, as well as ones in Conifer, Evergreen, Grand Junction, Idaho Springs, Parker, Salida, Steamboat Springs and Vail should the current labor dispute continue.
This is the first time in almost 30 years that Safeway employees in Colorado have walked out to protest unfair labor practices, with the last strike recorded in 1996, per the Denver Post.
“It’s too bad that things have come to this point with Safeway/Albertsons, but the ongoing unfair labor practices, including bad faith bargaining, as well as surveilling and threatening workers, have given us no choice but to strike,” Monique Trujillo, a Safeway worker in Fountain, said in a statement shared with the publication.
Members of other local unions representing 45,000 grocery store workers at Ralphs, Albertsons, Vons and Pavilions locations across Southern California also voted overwhelmingly to authorize a similar strike earlier this week.
“For four months, we’ve negotiated with Kroger and Albertsons, offering solutions to the staff shortage crisis that hurts store operations, working conditions and customer service. The companies have dismissed our proposals and claimed that our concerns were ‘anecdotal,’ downplaying the real challenges we and our customers face daily,” the bargaining committee for UFCW Locals 324 and 770 said in a statement.
“We’re at the breaking point. We are disrespected, overworked and undervalued by Kroger and Albertsons. We’re tired of asking these corporations to invest in their workers and customers, only to see no results,” it added, noting that the strike authorization doesn’t mean employees will walk off the job immediately, but the pressure and promise to do so is there.
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“This strike authorization vote means that we expect the companies to return to the bargaining table, negotiate a deal that works for everyone and desist from their unlawful tactics before we walk out and hit the picket lines,” the statement concluded.
The group’s efforts are part of a nationwide effort that includes approximately 100,000 union grocery workers employed by Kroger and Albertsons and should the strikes happen, it could lead to “the largest grocery strike in modern history, and a major labor disruption for two of the nation’s largest grocery chains this summer, their busiest season of the year,” union workers say.
In response to the vote, a spokesperson for the Kroger family of companies–which includes Ralphs, among other big names like Dillons, Fry’s, and Fred Meyer–shared a statement with local KTLA reporters which read in part: “Our current offer reflects that commitment, including market-leading wage increases for associates over the life of the agreement, and continued investment in industry-leading healthcare and a pension…These are benefits that many non-union competitors do not offer.”
No official strike date has been set for the stores in SoCal and negotiations are expected to resume on June 25.
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