Unionized Safeway workers in Colorado, including those in the Boulder Valley, could soon go on strike, and labor leaders have hinted that King Soopers workers could also be heading back to the picket line for the second time in 2025.

Thousands of members of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7 voted last week to authorize a strike — a start date has yet to be determined — after contract negotiations with Albertsons Cos. (NYSE: ACI), the parent company of Safeway, stalled. The union also said this weekend that a months-long effort to reach a new labor agreement with King Soopers parent company Kroger Inc. (NYSE: KR) has yet to result in an acceptable new contract.

“Our union grocery store members at Safeway and Albertsons have now voted to authorize a (unfair labor practices) strike,” UFCW Local 7 President Kim Cordova said in a prepared statement. “At the bargaining table, this employer is holding hands with King Soopers and City Market to propose major cuts to workers’ healthcare benefits, and to threaten the financial security of our pension beneficiaries on fixed incomes, while continuing to reject meaningful efforts to address chronic understaffing in stores. On top of the concessionary proposals at the negotiating table, Safeway and Albertsons have gone back on their agreements.”

An upcoming Safeway strike would likely include grocery workers in the Denver area, Boulder, Broomfield, Castle Rock, Conifer, Evergreen, Fountain, Grand Junction, Idaho Springs, Parker, Pueblo, Salida, Steamboat Springs and Vail, the union said.

King Soopers workers who are members of UFCW struck for two weeks in February before reaching a return-to-work agreement that reopened contract negotiations. That work stoppage was the second in three years for Colorado’s unionized King Soopers workers, who went on strike in January 2022 when negotiations over the most-recent labor agreement broke down. The 2022 strike and the February 2025 strike both featured a number of lawsuits from both parties.

As part of new labor contracts with the grocery giants, the union has demanded better pay, benefits and working conditions. UFCW members have long complained that King Soopers refuses to hire enough workers to adequately staff its stores. The union is now making similar claims about Albertsons management.

“We have been more than patient for months as the company slashed our hours and ignored workers’ proposals on staffing and other key issues. Incredibly, Safeway and Albertsons have now chosen to walk away from a signed agreement for retroactive pay and benefit increases and instead are only offering increases going forward. This is the essence of bargaining in bad faith,” Kevan Kohlman, a Safeway worker from Grand Junction, said in a statement. “Time has run out. My co-workers and I have authorized a ULP strike to address our concerns and make our workplaces better for us and our customers.”

Kroger and Albertsons failed to merge last year after labor leaders and regulators raised concerns about competition.

“Safeway in Colorado remains committed to productive discussions with UFCW Local 7 and we have contract extensions in place while we do so,” an Albertsons representative told BizWest in an email. “We respect the rights of workers to engage in collective bargaining and are negotiating in good faith to achieve an agreement. Our focus remains on providing exceptional service to our customers and fostering a positive working environment for our associates. All Safeway and Albertsons stores in Colorado are open and ready to continue serving our communities.”

King Soopers, in a statement on its website, wrote: “After eight months of bargaining with UFCW Local 7, we are disappointed to report that little meaningful progress has been made again this weekend. Our goal throughout negotiations has been to reach a balanced agreement that rewards our associates and keeps groceries affordable for Colorado families. Unfortunately, UFCW Local 7 has not demonstrated the same urgency or focus on moving forward.”

Editor’s note: This story was updated to clarify that the recent strike authorization was specifically for Safeway/Albertsons employees.

This article was first published by BizWest, an independent news organization, and is published under a license agreement. © 2025 BizWest Media LLC. You can view the original here: Safeway workers in Colorado could soon strike, still no King Soopers contract