DENVER (KDVR) — The bargaining committee for Safeway and Albertsons Company union workers in Colorado decided Wednesday to terminate their current contract extension, allowing a strike as early as Sunday morning.
The move comes on the heels of UFCW Local 7 union members overwhelmingly voting to approve strike action for unfair labor practices, with union members repeatedly noting chronic understaffing at stores.
Safeway, Albertsons employees vote to strike as King Soopers negotiations stagnate
The union says that Safeway and Albertsons are “holding hands” with King Soopers to try and cut workers’ healthcare benefits, saying earlier this week that the company is backtracking on an agreement for retroactive pay and benefit increases, which the labor union cited as an unfair labor practice.
“We took this decision very seriously and concluded that after so many months of bargaining, Safeway/Albertsons was giving us no choice but to further escalate our contract campaign,” said Ivan Lopez, a Safeway distribution center worker in Denver. His comments were provided in a union press release…