WORKERS TO VOTE ON KROGER PROPOSAL

DENVER -- Members of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7 here will vote by this Friday on whether they would agree to have a federal mediator draw up a new labor contract, a spokesman for the workers said last week.

ths of failed negotiations between the union and the chains in the region.

A spokesman for the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, Washington, told SN it was waiting for feedback from the workers before deciding whether or not to follow up on Kroger's proposal. He said drafting contracts is a service that FMCS traditionally does not perform.

Albertsons, Boise, Idaho, and Safeway, Pleasanton, Calif., have been negotiating on separate but similar contracts at the same time as Kroger, but they did not participate in Kroger's request for mediator intervention.

A worker vote on whether or not to allow the mediator to draw up a contract had originally been scheduled for last week.