Union workers at several Safeway stores across Colorado initiated a strike on Sunday morning following a temporary contract extension that ended without a new agreement.
The affected locations include Safeway stores in Estes Park, Fountain, and two stores in Pueblo, with employees at the Safeway distribution center in Denver joining the action.
The primary concerns for union workers involve understaffed stores, changes to health benefits, and inadequate wage increases which have been ongoing issues since the expiration of initial contracts started in January.
Kim Cordova, president of United Food and Commercial Workers International Union Local 7, expressed fears that the collaboration between Albertsons-owned Safeway and its rival, Kroger-owned King Soopers, could undermine the benefits of Safeway members.
Cordova voiced the union’s discontent with what they view as collusion in negotiations, stating, “This is our big problem. Even though they’re competitors and they’re separate, we do not agree to what’s called multi-employer bargaining. They’re trying to force that and in our opinion, this is collusion.”
Safeway officials maintained a stance of commitment to “productive discussions” while indicating that all stores would remain open despite the strike’s commencement.
As of December, Colorado had 105 Safeway and Albertsons stores.
Late last year, Kroger was in the process of merging with Albertsons, but a federal judge’s intervention halted this $24.6 billion merger.
In light of the merger’s cancellation, Albertsons had to reconsider its plans for operations in Colorado.
In a letter distributed to union members, Cordova noted that Safeway management’s failure to fully fund healthcare benefits, address critical understaffing, and provide competitive wage increases further exacerbated tensions.
Looking ahead, Cordova indicated that more Safeway locations across the state could join the strike imminently.
Union members in various areas, including Boulder, Broomfield, Denver, and other cities, already voted earlier this month to authorize a strike.
In addition, union members in Colorado Springs, Fort Collins, Greeley, Longmont, and Loveland are slated to vote soon on whether to join the strike.
There are approximately 7,000 Safeway workers in Colorado represented by the union, highlighting the broad impact of these labor movements.
Cordova remarked, “These are the first wave of the strikes. We have 68 different units here across the state. Safeway has a lot of market share in rural areas, and resort stores in mountain towns.”
The union’s strategy for a phased rollout of strikes aims to enhance public awareness about the issues workers are confronting.
This approach also seeks to give Safeway and Albertsons time to grasp the depth of the workers’ commitment, while minimizing inconvenience for shoppers and staff.
This stands in contrast to the King Soopers strike that occurred in February, which saw employees from 77 Denver metro area stores walk off the job for almost two weeks.
That strike concluded when both sides established a “100-day period of labor peace,” which subsequently ended in June with little progress reported.
Cordova indicated that King Soopers employees might also return to picket lines as the union explores the implications of the previous strike authorization.
This remains a developing story with the potential for updates as circumstances evolve.
image source from：https://coloradosun.com/2025/06/15/colorado-grocery-strike-safeway/
