Supermarket union workers such as Albertsons, Safeway and Kroger are seeking improvements in working conditions and wages, allowing many to strike as a way to get their demands.
How to properly store in the kitchen
Store your groceries properly to make your groceries last longer.
The problem has been resolved and the problem has been resolved
Grocery workers from five states have approved a series of escalating and evolving work actions strikes against major supermarket chains, the Albertsons and Kroger.
In Colorado, seven impressive local unified workers wore placards, saying “Don’t patronize Safeway,” “Employees of unfair labor practices” and “Don’t patronize Safeway” and “Don’t patronize Safeway” on Tuesday, June 24th, to claim better staffing and higher wages. This comes after other local union members took a strike on June 15th to picket the Albertsons and Safeway stores in distribution centers in Estes Park, Fountain, Pueblo, Littleton and Denver.
Headquartered in Boise, Idaho, Albertsons owns more than 2,200 retailers nationwide, including Safeway Supermarket.
The supermarket giant and UFCW Local 7 had been negotiating a new contract since December 2024 before lapsed in January. Meanwhile, UFCW Local 7 members took a strike at the Kingsoppers and City Market Store, owned by Kroger in the Denver metropolitan area, after their contract ended and negotiations failed. Both sides have not yet reached an agreement.
“Early in the negotiations, Safeway/Albertsons had shown signs they wanted to reach an agreement with workers, but instead the company tied its arms with King Soper and the urban market when seeking concessions from fixed income workers and retirees,” UFCW Local 7 said in a press release.
The Albertsons face labor conflicts in at least four other states. In Indianapolis, the UFCW Local 700 approved the strike when he resigned from his four-year contract with Kroger on May 31.
Kroger has since said it will close 60 stores, and the union is planning a planned session on June 25th.
Collectively, in a press release on June 11, UFCW local 324 and 770 negotiating committees could potentially have more than 100,000 grocery workers on the “brink of strikes at the same time.”
Kroger closes 60 unperforming stores after failing to merge the Albertsons
With plans to close 60 stores, Kroger will commit to new openings and employee relocation, navigating the challenges after an attempted merger with the Albertsons.
Scripps News
State with potential supermarket strikes coming in
In Colorado, UFCW Local 7 said strikes could be expanded after they first began in four cities to understand the problems these workers are facing and the time at Safeway/Albertsons to understand the seriousness of workers’ resolve.
It’s where a strike has occurred or is permitted.
- Colorado: According to UFCW 7, the number of stores where workers began strikes and pickets, including Albertson’s stores in Aurora and additional Safeway stores in Boulder, Colorado Springs and Grand Junction, has grown to almost 20.
- California: On June 11, members of UFCW 324 and 770 in Southern California approved strikes at the Albertsons and their pavilions, Vons stores and grocery stores, including the Kroger-owned Ralphs.
- Idaho: Boise and Nampa’s UFCW Local 555 members approved the unfair labor practice strike during the June 15-16 vote, the union said. No strike dates have been set and negotiations are underway. The union representing more than 35,000 workers, including Oregon, southwestern Washington and parts of Wyoming, has accused the Albertsons of threatening to fire employees after reaching settlements because they fought for better wages. “Like grocery workers across the country, we support our families and communities and demand the wages we need to retire here. The Albertsons have no right to threaten less and less restless employees.”
- New Mexico: Accusations of unfair labor practices have been filed against Albertsons and Kroger-owned Smith on behalf of New Mexico grocery workers, with more than 3,700 members, according to UFCW Local 1564. And on June 20th, members approved the strike. This could happen on June 29th, the day after the current contract expires, so UFCW Local 1564 President Greg Frazier told the Albuquerque Journal. According to UFCW Local 1564, the union’s negotiation committee reached a temporary agreement with Smith on June 24, waiting for a vote by its members.
- Washington: Puget Sound Area members of the UFCW 3000 in western Washington are voting this week with new contracts with stores such as the Albertsons, Safeway and Kroger-owned Fred Meyer. The interim agreement came after the union allowed the strike on June 12th.
Things you need to know about the possibility of a strike. What will that affect?
As the strike continues to spread, stores remain open and managers or temporary workers will be placed. But coordinated strikes at stores in multiple states could increase the impact on the parent company, said Paul Clark, a professor of labor and employment relations at Pennsylvania State.
Pickets in front of supermarkets have a different effect than pickets, for example, on steel and other industrial sites. For stores, “Picket Line is designed to communicate to our community, shoppers, rather than to our strike employees. Don’t cross the Picket Line.
“This is a part of all the unions trying to put pressure on the company, and (and) they are trying to get the best deals they can for the company,” he said.
“The two look quite trapped, and they’ll probably see people hurting to a greater degree the next week you know,” Clark said. “They’re stuck in a deadlock of sorts, and they’re putting pressure on each other and trying to see who’s flashing first.”
Why are grocery workers trying to attack?
While individual local unions may have separate demands, workers generally want better wages and working conditions, including improved staffing. Union leaders, along with the Guardian and the Food & Environment Reporting Network (FERN), have said in a recent report compiled by the Consumer Report that they have contributed to overcharging groceries at Kroger stores, including Fred Meyer, Harris Teaser and Ralph. The outlet says the investigation was launched after a Colorado grocery worker claimed a price error during work negotiations.
The report found that shoppers often paid the full price of items advertised during discounts or sale. “Chronic staffing shortages at grocery stores prevent shelves from ensuring that the prices customers pay on the registers,” said Kim Cordoba, then local president of UFCW at the time. “When Kroger directs workers to cut down on time at these stores, it’s the customers who pay the price.”
Kroger reported that pricing errors are “dozens of examples over the years of billions of customer transactions each year,” and that “characterization of broad pricing concerns is patently incorrect.”
Another factor suggests that retailers are “trying to narrow down workers and customers,” in the wake of the failed merger between the Albertsons and Kroger, which was cancelled in December 2024, Cordoba told the Pueblo chief on June 16.
In a statement to USA Today, the Albertsons said accusations of unfair labor practices were “no merit.” “We respect our employees’ right to engage in collective bargaining, and we negotiate in good faith to reach a fair contract for our employees, benefit our customers and stay competitive.”
Mike Snyder is a reporter for the trending team at USA Today. You can follow him in the thread, send BlueSky, X with X and send him an email Bliss & @mikegsnider.bsky.social & @mikesnider &msnider@usatoday.com
What are you guys talking about? Sign up for our trending newsletter to get the latest news of the day
