The clock is ticking as contracts across the state expire between the union representing grocery workers in Colorado and Kroger, the parent company of King Soopers and City Market.

It’s the first time the union has returned to settle a contract with Kroger since 2022, when negotiations sparked a strike and allegations the grocer colluded with Safeway with illegal non-poach agreements, which are still being settled through lawsuits filed by the state and the grocer’s union United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7.

It also comes a month after the proposed merger between Albertsons and Kroger collapsed, which the UFCW Local 7 officials cheered.

The current union contract extension for the Denver metro region expired at midnight Thursday — and if the parties don’t reach an agreement, the union president said the organization is willing to vote on whether or not to go on another strike “soon.”

The metro Denver region contracts are the first to expire and drive the negotiations in other parts of Colorado, with many more set to expire over the next few weeks.

“We’re very far apart right now,” UFCW 7 President Kim Cordova told The Denver Gazette in a phone interview Thursday.

And if it keeps up, she said, the union will start scheduling strike votes.

Before midnight, King Soopers and City Market announced a “last, best and final offer” and urged workers to blame their union for stalling the process.

“The plain truth is King Soopers and City Market have done everything possible to move the bargaining process forward and our associates deserve stronger representation and must hold their Union accountable for NOT prioritizing economic issues that directly impact their lives,” said Joe Kelley, President of King Soopers, in a statement.

The union rejected the offer and the contract expired, meaning the “no-strike clause” is no longer in effect.

Union leaders in a statement Friday said votes to authorize a strike could come as early as Monday.

King Soopers said in a statement shortly after that it does not want a strike and the last offer stands until Jan. 31.

“We know that nobody wins in a strike – strikes bring uncertainty and financial hardship, and we don’t want that for our people, our customers, or our communities,” King Soopers said in a statement Friday.

The representative for the grocers and the union did not immediately respond to questions about what steps it’ll take will take place following the contract expiration to avoid a strike.

Failed merger hangs over contract details, union claims

The negotiations are reminiscent of 2022, when King Soopers in the Denver area went on strike for 9 days in January.

The strike disrupted shopping and an economist who testified in Colorado’s lawsuit against Kroger found Safeway stores gained $55 for every $100 King Soopers lost during the strike.

UFCW Local 7, which represents about 23,000 grocery workers in Colorado and Wyoming, released a statement Wednesday night saying Kroger is ignoring their proposals and its current contract stipulations aren’t enough to meet the needs of grocery workers: Such as addressing the workforce shortage, weakening benefits and offering a wage too low for workers to afford living in Colorado.

“The aftermath of this failed attempt to merge has had a lot to do with this contentious negotiation,” Cordova said.

For her, she said King Soopers and City Market’s proposal comes with many concessions despite the company still doing well. Cordova said she believes the workers and consumers are paying for the failed merger, which was simultaneously shut down by two judges in Washington and Oregon in December.

Colorado is still awaiting an opinion from a Denver District Court judge, though court documents show the grocers are trying to toss the complaints regarding the merger since the deal fell apart. Still, the court has to rule on Colorado’s allegations that King Soopers had an illegal non-compete clause with Safeway to not hire striking workers in 2022.

The grocers denied those allegations, saying it was standard business practice to not hire striking union workers since they usually return to their store where they have more seniority when strikes end.

King Soopers and City Market, on the other hand, are claiming the union is stalling and hasn’t brought forth their own wage, healthcare and pension proposals.

“The road to reaching an agreement requires good faith bargaining,” officials said in an infographic showing a timeline of the negotiations.

Kroger sales hit $150 billion in 2023, a slower annual growth of 1.1% from the previous year where sales increased by 5%.

Kroger also reported lower revenues in the third quarter of 2024, year-over-year, due to the sale of Kroger Specialty Pharmacy catering to patients with chronic illnesses requiring complex care.

But when not counting fuel and the pharmacy’s sales, Kroger reported its sales in grocery products are up 2.7%.

Cordova retorted back that grocer is delaying as the union is still waiting on data regarding how the grocer’s scheduling model works to put forward a more comprehensive proposal.

The grocery company is offering a new four-year contract, according to its proposal published on its website.

King Soopers and City Market is offering a total of $4.25 an hour in wage increases over the four years — or approximately $1 more hourly each year — for clerk and meat associates, department leaders, head clerks and pharmacy technicians. The grocer raised it Wednesday from a $3.50 increase from a previous offer, calling it “significant.”

Healthcare benefits would cost workers $1 to $3 more each week, depending on the plan, remaining “low-cost,” according to King Soopers.

The union said the company’s proposals are inadequate and would cut the healthcare benefits and seniority-based scheduling perks, adding it would make it harder to retain workers to staff stores.

King Soopers retorted that its offer “maintains affordable healthcare and stable pensions contributions while addressing rising costs to ensure long-term benefit security for all associates,” in a worker’s guide for rebutting the union’s claims.

In a statement Wednesday, a King Soopers representative said: “We are hopeful that they will be ready to engage in meaningful negotiations focused on reaching a fair agreement, in a timely manner, that invests in our associates’ paychecks while keeping groceries affordable for Coloradans.”

Chris Lacey, a worker in a Littleton store, said in a union statement that he wants the grocer to change its approach to negotiations.

“We will not hesitate to take whatever action is necessary to secure a good and fair contract,” Lacey said.