Safeway workers across Colorado may go on a strike beginning on Sunday, the local grocery workers union announced.

The United Food & Commercial Workers Local 7 announced Wednesday night that it gave Albertsons, the parent company of Safeway, a 72-hour notice to cancel a contract extension.

The agreement between the union and the grocer will expire by Saturday at 11:59 p.m., paving the way for the union to go on strike as soon as Sunday morning.

The union specified that they haven’t called a strike yet, but that the contract expiration gives them the final green light needed after workers across the state voted to walk out.

Workers in the metro Denver area, Estes Park, Fountain, Salida, Vail, Fort Morgan, Pueblo and Grand Junction have voted to strike.

More votes may soon be scheduled for other parts of the state, the union said.

“We respect the rights of workers to engage in collective bargaining and remain 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 Safeway spokesperson said in a statement. 

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“We took this decision very seriously and concluded that after so many months of bargaining, Safeway/Albertsons was giving us no choice but to further escalate our contract campaign,” said Ivan Lopez, a Safeway distribution center worker in Denver, in a statement.

The union’s bargaining committee has offered to set another meeting with Albertsons and Safeway leaders on Friday to avoid a strike, according to a Facebook update for union members.

The grocer and UFCW Local 7 have been negotiating for nine months.

The union alleged Safeway is committing an unfair labor practice by refusing to negotiate fairly and accept proposals to address understaffing of stores.

It said the two parties made progress in past negotiations to create a new alcohol and drug rehabilitation policy in contract negotiations and add protections to workers assigned to curbside delivery, but added that Safeway was “far behind” on many economic issues.

Union leaders claimed the grocer is proposing lower wage increases than other competitors and health care cuts.

If Safeway workers walk out, it would be the second time grocery workers in the state went on strike this year after the union couldn’t reach an agreement with King Soopers in February.

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“The hope at the time was that Safeway/Albertsons would heed the lesson of King Soopers and come to negotiations with proposals that the workers could agree to,” the union said in a press release. “For months they did not, and the 99% strike votes show how clearly they have missed the mark.”

The union is still in negotiations with the King Soopers even as their deal to not strike for 100 days has expired.

It’s still not clear whether the union is planning to strike on King Soopers again, though the union has stated in social media posts that it hopes putting pressure on one of the grocers will push the other to make progress in negotiations.