King Soopers and United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7 announced Friday morning that they have reached a tentative agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement, ending the 10-day-old strike at the grocer’s metro Denver stores immediately.
The three-year deal still needs to be ratified, and union members will begin voting on it Monday. Workers were expected to start leaving the picket lines Friday.
Terms of the new contract have not yet been made public.
According to the union, the agreement will guarantee respect, protection and fair pay for grocery workers in King Soopers stores across Colorado.
“After months of negotiations and after our members walked out on strike, we have reached a tentative agreement with King Soopers/City Market that addresses the company’s unfair labor practices and ensures that our members will receive the respect, pay and protection they warrant,” Kim Cordova, president of UFCW Local 7, said in a news release. “This fight will always be about the workers. I could not be prouder of our members who put it all on the line to have their voices heard.”
More than 8,000 workers at 78 stores across the Denver metro area went on strike Jan. 12 to protest the company’s labor practices after contracts began expiring throughout Colorado. The strike had been scheduled to last three weeks.
“We are pleased that this agreement allows us to put more money in our associates’ paychecks and secures health care and pension plans,” said Joe Kelley, president of King Soopers and City Market, in a news release. “We look forward to welcoming back our associates and customers.”
Cordova said the community’s support in not crossing picket lines helped members get a contract they deserve. She thanked King Soopers customers who chose to shop elsewhere over the last 10 days.
“All of us at Local 7 are proud to fight on behalf of our members who show up to work every day, keeping shelves full to feed their communities through this ongoing pandemic while barely making ends meet to feed and provide for their own families,” Cordova said. “We didn’t ask for this fight, but the company chose to put profits over people for so long and failed to listen to the workers who made its success possible.”
Details of the contract “will be made public in the coming days to the members,” the union said in its news release.
During the negotiations, King Soopers has proposed raising starting pay to at least $16 an hour –13 cents above Denver’s minimum wage. A spokeswoman for the chain said King Soopers’ average hourly wage is $18.29.
The UFCW Local 7’s contracts with other King Soopers and City Market stores across Colorado will soon expire. It wasn’t clear how the agreement covering Denver-area stores will affect those.
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— UFCW Local 7 (@UFCW_7) January 21, 2022
