The Safeway strike in Colorado is rolling out in bits and pieces. Workers in Grand Junction joined the picket line on Tuesday, temporarily shutting down the store.
A spokesperson for Safeway said the store is expected to reopen by 4 p.m. today, including the pharmacy.
Safeway employees in Colorado went on strike starting Sunday after contract negotiations with Safeway and parent company Albertsons failed. It’s not clear exactly how many workers are striking, how many stores could ultimately be affected, or how long the strike will last. Communication from the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7, which represents 23,000 members in Colorado and Wyoming, has been sparse since the strike was announced last week.
CPR compiled the facts to help.
How many Colorado Safeway stores are striking? Will my Safeway be affected?
As of Tuesday afternoon, workers at six stores and a distribution center in Denver are striking. The retail locations are in Grand Junction, Pueblo, Estes Park, Castle Rock, Littleton and Fountain.
That could change at any moment. Workers at stores across Colorado including in Denver, Boulder, Broomfield, Conifer, Evergreen, Grand Junction, Idaho Springs, Colorado Springs and Fort Collins, among others, voted to authorize a strike during the past several weeks. Employees overwhelmingly voted to authorize a work stoppage, according to the union. That doesn’t mean all those stores will go on strike. But it does give the union the option to call a strike at those stores if a deal with Safeway isn’t reached.
The strike started with three stores and a distribution center on Sunday. When the strike was announced, the union said it was starting with a limited number of stores to “allow time for the public to understand the problems these workers are facing, allow Safeway/Albertsons time to understand the seriousness of the workers’ resolve, and at the same time reduce the hardship on shoppers and workers alike that result from a wide-spread strike.”
The union isn’t announcing what stores will go on strike ahead of time. Updates are available on social media.
How long will the Safeway strike last?
There is no timeline for how long the strike will last. Union leaders maintain the strike could keep expanding until a deal is reached. Negotiations between Safeway and the union were set to resume Tuesday and Wednesday, according to a Facebook post from the union.
Why are Colorado's Safeway workers striking?
Workers walked off the job after seven months of contract negotiations failed to deliver a deal that the union would accept. The contract expired in January. The union is seeking fixes to chronic understaffing, better wages and guarantees that workers health and pension benefits will be fully funded. The union contends that Safeway is working with competitor King Soopers to wring concessions from workers on healthcare and pension benefits.
The strike is billed as an Unfair Labor Practices Strike.
Wait, are King Soopers workers going on strike as well?
Maybe. The union is also negotiating with King Soopers and parent Kroger. Those talks come after a strike in February that lasted almost two weeks. A deal was reached to pause the labor action for 100 days, even though a new contract hadn’t been signed. That pause expired last month.
What does Safeway have to say about the strike?
A Safeway spokesperson said allegations of unfair labor practices aren’t true.
“Safeway in Colorado remains committed to productive discussions with UFCW Local 7, and we are disappointed the union has chosen to strike some of our stores,” the spokesperson said in an emailed statement. “We respect the rights of workers to engage in collective bargaining and are negotiating in good faith to achieve a balanced agreement that rewards our associates, benefits our customers, and is sustainable for our company in the competitive grocery industry.”
