Here’s what you need to know about the King Soopers strike

The United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7, which represents astir 17,000 market workers successful Colorado and Wyoming, was acceptable to commencement a three-week onslaught starting astatine 5 a.m. Wednesday against King Soopers stores successful the Denver area, Boulder and Parker.

Here are immoderate of the details astir the strike, issues successful the labour quality and plans by the national and company:

Which stores are affected?  The King Soopers stores successful the pursuing cities volition beryllium involved:  Arvada, Aurora, Boulder, Broomfield, Centennial, Commerce City, Denver, Edgewater, Englewood, Evergreen, Federal Heights, Glendale, Golden, Greenwood Village, Highlands Ranch, Lakewood, Littleton, Louisville, Parker, Thornton, Westminster and Wheat Ridge. Union members successful Colorado Springs besides voted to authorize a onslaught but they won’t enactment present due to the fact that the nutrient workers’ contracts haven’t expired yet.

How did negotiations spell sideways? That depends connected whom you ask. The national says King Soopers’ wage connection is insufficient and the institution wants concessions from workers, including a bounds connected sick leave. It accuses the institution of unfair labour practices. Kroger-owned King Soopers said it is offering the largest wage summation successful the company’s past and that the national isn’t negotiating successful bully faith.

Why aren’t each King Soopers/City Market stores striking? The labour quality affects those stores whose contracts expired Jan. 8. Contracts expire aboriginal successful January and successful February for stores successful Pueblo, Grand Junction, Fort Collins, Greeley, Longmont, Loveland and the Colorado Springs nutrient departments.

What are the issues successful the dispute? The union’s issues see higher wages; the outsourcing of jobs; eliminating a two-tier wage operation that pays radical who started aft 2005 little wealth and little wealth for workers connected the West Slope; information of workers successful the look of rising crime, including robberies successful stores; and stronger wellness protections arsenic the pandemic continues. The national says King Soopers is seeking unacceptable concessions from workers, including capping the magnitude of sick permission astatine 48 hours per year.

What is King Soopers’ stance? The company’s latest connection includes $170 cardinal successful wage increases and bonuses for each employees for ratification of the contract. Wage increases would beryllium up to $4.50 an hr successful the archetypal year, based connected occupation classification and tenure and a boost to $16 an hr to start. Bonuses would beryllium $4,000 for employees with 10 oregon much years with the institution and $2,000 for little than years. The institution wants the national to let members to ballot connected the offer.

How are the union, King Soopers preparing for the strike? King Soopers has advertised for impermanent replacement workers astatine $18 an hour. The institution said hundreds of Kroger employees from crossed the state are coming to Colorado to help. The UFCW Local 7 said national members from different states are coming to the authorities to enactment the striking workers.