Denver, CO: Kroger grocery store workers at King Soopers begin strike
Denver, CO – Early in the morning of February 6, grocery store workers at 77 King Soopers locations represented by United Food Commercial Workers Local 7 went on strike.
After months of little progress in negotiations with the billion dollar parent company, Kroger, the members have overwhelmingly voted to go on strike to fight for a contract that meets their demands.
Workers say their biggest focus is increased wages and staffing. Many workers on the picket line stated they are being forced to work harder because Kroger refuses to hire enough workers. This issue was repeated by workers from multiple departments including deli, dairy, bakery, grocery and frozen goods. Overnight workers expressed needing two or more people in their department on the overnight shift. Another issue that was raised was that the union members are not able to stock their departments by themselves or finish their work in the allotted time they are given by management.
The workers said that management has consistently refused to allow any overtime to get the work done, and that that is leading to unfinished work that is expected to be done the following day, on top of their regular work for that day, meaning that tasks like rotating the product and running backstock rarely happen.
Kroger has bought up many grocery chains and expanded dramatically in recent years, and the striking workers believe that this consolidation of the grocery industry has caused prices to skyrocket while wages in the industry have stagnated.
Employees across the store raised issues around low wages and say that some members are working multiple jobs to make ends meet. Long-term workers at King Soopers also spoke to how they felt like they are treated now compared to the time before Kroger’s takeover, saying that they used to be paid a living wage, the work was more enjoyable, and the culture of the job was significantly better.
The strike is set to continue for two weeks across the 77 locations, with workers maintaining a 24-hour picket. Members of Local 7 are striking for better staffing, treatment, and wages across the state.