King Soopers, Colorado UFCW staring at contract deadlineKing Soopers, Colorado UFCW staring at contract deadline

Time is running out in contract talks for King Soopers’ Colorado union grocery workers. After agreeing to a two-week extension on January 3, the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 7, which represents 21,000 grocery workers in Colorado and Wyoming, says King Soopers has until the end of Thursday to reach an agreement.

Biggest news for grocery?

King Soopers’ parent company, Kroger, has failed to present an adequate proposal, according to the union, which claims the Cincinnati-based grocer wants to cut healthcare benefits, reduce seniority-based scheduling benefits, and offer wages that are too low for Colorado’s living standards. Furthermore, UFCW Local 7 alleges that Kroger wants to alter retiree health benefits and underfund the retailer’s pension plan.

“We continue to call on King Soopers and City Market to negotiate in good faith and address the increasingly problematic issue of too few staff in the stores and too low wages for the work,” said Kim Cordova, president of UFCW Local 7, in a press release.

Kroger had not responded to a request for comment as of publication time.

Last contract was historic

When the two sides reached a deal three years ago following a 10-day strike, the terms were historic. Some workers received raises of $5.99 an hour, the largest wage increase ever negotiated by a UFCW local chapter for grocery workers, according to the union. That contract also protected pension benefits and required Kroger to pay a higher share of healthcare costs for workers. New in-store security policies were also implemented, including a self-defense clause that gives workers more protection when dealing with unruly customers.