DENVER — Colorado Safeway employees will began a limited strike at stores in Estes Park, Fountain, and Pueblo Sunday after contract negotiations with Albertsons Companies, Inc. stalled.
UFCW Local 7 said limiting the locations for the strike in the initial days will “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 on shoppers and workers alike.”
The union and the Boise-based company that owns Safeway have been negotiating a new contract for the past few months, but both sides appear to have made little to no progress.
Union leaders voted to strike after the company rejected a final offer on Friday.
In a statement to Denver7 last week, a spokesperson for Safeway/ Albertsons said the company “remains committed to negotiating in good faith to reach an agreement that is fair to our employees, good for our customers, and allows our company to remain competitive."
A UFCW statement read: “It’s too bad that things have come to this point with Safeway/Albertsons, but the ongoing unfair labor practices, including bad faith bargaining, as well as surveilling and threatening workers, have given us no choice but to strike.”
Safeway workers in other Colorado cities, including Colorado Springs, Fort Collins, Greeley, Loveland, and Longmont, plan to vote on strike authorization in the coming week.
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