TALKS STALLED AS DENVER STRIKE SPREADS

ELLIOT ZWIEBACH

DENVER -- The strike by United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 7 here against King Soopers and the subsequent employee lockout by Safeway ground on into its fourth week last week as the dispute spread to more stores. Although talks had resumed briefly late last month, no progress was reported by either side -- despite some observers' feelings that the accidental deaths of two picketing Safeway employees, who were hit by a swerving car, might hasten an end to the dispute. Negotiations resumed a few days later but were recessed indefinitely within two days. The strike-lockout began May 12 at 55 King Soopers and 55 Safeways here and in Colorado Springs. It has subsequently spread to 10 more King Soopers and 13 more Safeways in areas north of Denver after contracts with Local 7 at those stores expired May 25 and June 1. Tony Gehring, a union spokesman, told SN last week that only a handful of workers were crossing picket lines to return to their jobs. But Pete Webb, a management spokesman, said more than 1,200 Local 7 members were crossing picket lines, along with a similar number of Teamsters and bakery workers not involved in the dispute. Store hours were being extended to 18 hours a day, up from 12 hours when the strike-lockout began and 16 hours more recently, Webb added. A major issue in the dispute is whether King Soopers and Safeway can use direct-store delivery vendors to stock certain categories. Webb said the two chains are limited to using vendor stocking for beverages, branded bread, snacks and greeting cards only, while area Albertson's and Cub Foods stores can use vendor stocking for those items plus cookies and crackers, pet supplies, bows and wraps, frozen pizza and fresh juice in produce sections. Gehring said all four chains have identical contract language and the same vendor-stocking restrictions. Other points of difference in the labor dispute include health care, pensions, loss of jobs and the ability to sell prepackaged meat. Safeway and King Soopers have run a joint newspaper ad that said the chains haven't proposed cutting pension benefits.