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UFCW Local 7 ratifies new contract with King Soopers

Union says agreement includes ‘most significant wage increase ever’ for grocery workers

Russell Redman

January 25, 2022

3 Min Read
King_Soopers_store_banner-The_Kroger_Co.jpg
The ratification came almost two weeks after UFCW local 7’s contracts with King Soopers/City Market began expiring throughout Colorado.The Kroger Co.

United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 7 has ratified a new three-year contract with The Kroger Co.’s King Soopers division, just days after a tentative deal ended an eight-day strike.

Denver-based UFCW Local 7 announced the contract ratification Monday evening following votes by its membership. The union said final details of the contract were provided to members but not released publicly. UFCW 7 represents about 17,000 King Soopers/City Market employees, including meat and deli workers and clerks. 

According to UFCW 7, the contract marks “the most significant wage increase ever secured by a UFCW local for grocery workers” and includes first-year wage hikes for longstanding employees, with some workers receiving increases of more than $5 per hour. The agreement also includes improved health care benefits, protected pension benefits, stronger safety measures for employees and customers, and new paths to full-time employment opportunities for King Soopers and City Market associates, the union said. 

“From the beginning of this process, we promised our members that we would procure the very best contract we could. We are excited that our members voted overwhelmingly to ratify this industry-leading contract that will ensure King Soopers will respect and protect essential workers as well as pay them fairly,” UFCW Local 7 President Kim Cordova said in a statement.

Related:King Soopers, UFCW Local 7 reach tentative strike settlement

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More than 8,000 workers participated in the strike at 78 King Soopers and City Market stores in metropolitan Denver and surrounding communities.

The ratification comes nearly two weeks after UFCW 7’s contracts began expiring throughout Colorado. UFCW 7 launched the strike in the morning of Jan. 12 after rejecting what King Soopers/City Market called its “last, best and final offer” for a new contract. The previous labor pact had expired as of midnight Jan. 9.

More than 8,000 unionized workers took part in the strike at 78 King Soopers and City Market stores in greater Denver, Broomfield, Parker and Boulder, Colo. UFCW 7 initially said the work stoppage would last three weeks, until Feb. 2, and that stores in Colorado Springs also might be picketed at a later date. The union and King Soopers/City Market announced a tentative accord early on Jan. 21.

Ratification votes will continue in Colorado Springs, Pueblo, Grand Junction, and northern Colorado over the next week, UFCW 7 said. 

“Getting here has been arduous. Full credit goes to the bargaining committee and workers who made their voices heard through negotiating, standing united at the picket line, or sharing their stories with the media,” added Cordova, who also serves as vice president at UFCW International. “This fight was always about them, and now they have a contract they deserve and can be proud of.”

Related:Thousands of King Soopers workers go on strike

After reporting the tentative contract agreement on Friday, which ended the strike, King Soopers/City Market announced a $2 hourly premium on Saturday, Sunday and Monday for store associates returning to work or helping out at other locations “as a thank you for all that you do and the exceptional service.”

“I am grateful for the work that each of you do to support each other and our communities,” King Soopers Division President Joe Kelley stated. “Over the past few days, our family has been through a lot, but it is time for us to come together again and stand united as we head into the future and work toward becoming the market leader again.”

Overall, King Soopers/City Market has more than 22,000 associates and operates 117 supermarkets in Colorado and Wyoming.

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The Kroger Co.

About the Author

Russell Redman

Senior Editor
Supermarket News

Russell Redman has served as senior editor at Supermarket News since April 2018, his second tour with the publication. In his current role, he handles daily news coverage for the SN website and contributes news and features for the print magazine, as well as participates in special projects, podcasts and webinars and attends industry events. Russ joined SN from Racher Press Inc.’s Chain Drug Review and Mass Market Retailers magazines, where he served as desk/online editor for more than nine years, covering the food/drug/mass retail sector. 

Russell Redman’s more than 30 years of experience in journalism span a range of editorial manager, editor, reporter/writer and digital roles at a variety of publications and websites covering a breadth of industries, including retailing, pharmacy/health care, IT, digital home, financial technology, financial services, real estate/commercial property, pro audio/video and film. He started his career in 1989 as a local news reporter and editor, covering community news and politics in Long Island, N.Y. His background also includes an earlier stint at Supermarket News as center store editor and then financial editor in the mid-1990s. Russ holds a B.A. in journalism (minor in political science) from Hofstra University, where he also earned a certificate in digital/social media marketing in November 2016.

Russell Redman’s experience:

Supermarket News - Informa
Senior Editor 
April 2018 - present

Chain Drug Review/Mass Market Retailers - Racher Press
Desk/Online Editor 
Sept. 2008 - March 2018

CRN magazine - CMP Media
Managing Editor
May 2000 - June 2007

Bank Systems & Technology - Miller Freeman
Executive Editor/Managing Editor
Dec. 1996 - May 2000

Supermarket News - Fairchild Publications
Financial Editor/Associate Editor
April 1995 - Dec. 1996 

Shopping Centers Today Magazine - ICSC 
Desk Editor/Assistant Editor
Dec. 1992 - April 1995

Testa Communications
Assistant Editor/Contributing Editor (Music & Sound Retailer, Post, Producer, Sound & Communications and DJ Times magazines)
Jan. 1991 - Dec. 1992 

American Banker/Bond Buyer
Copy Editor
Oct. 1990 - Jan. 1991 

This Week newspaper - Chanry Communications
Reporter/Editor
May 1989 - July 1990

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