More Safeways Join Strike in Colorado, Reaching Nearly Forty Stores

As of Monday, June 30, Safeway workers at around forty stores in over twenty Colorado cities are on strike, including stores and a distribution center in Denver.

Safeway workers are striking because Albertsons, Safeway’s parent company, has not responded to the union’s requests for better pay and higher staffing at grocery stores in the state, according to the United Food & Commercial Workers Local 7, the grocery union in Colorado.

Around 7,000 workers are employed at Safeway or Albertsons stores in Colorado. For now, workers are striking at select stores in Aurora, Boulder, Brighton, Castle Rock, Colorado Springs, Denver, Estes Park, Fort Collins, Fort Morgan, Fountain, Grand Junction, Greeley, Highlands Ranch, Lakewood, Littleton, Lone Tree, Longmont, Pueblo, Pueblo West, Thornton and Wheat Ridge.

Denver Safeway stores on strike include locations at 3800 West 44th Avenue in west Denver, 757 East 20th Avenue and 2150 South Downing Street, as well as a Denver distribution center.

Over the weekend, Safeway workers in Fort Collins and Thornton he union plans to add more stores to the strike until Safeway comes to the bargaining table in good faith.

"We're going to grow the picket lines," says union president Kim Cordova. "They're going to expand."

The strike is an Unfair Labor Practices strike, with workers alleging that Albertsons has illegally negotiated in tandem with King Soopers, despite a merger between the companies falling apart. In a statement, Safeway says any allegations of unfair labor practices are untrue.

Safeway workers previously had a temporary agreement with the company to extend their contracts beyond their expiration dates, which included raises and improved benefits, that the company is now refusing to honor. By voting to strike last week, the workers voided that extension.

Why Safeway Workers Are Striking

Safeway workers across Colorado have been negotiating with their employers for nine months. At this point, every previous contract has expired.

Economics have been the sticking point in negotiations, according to Cordova. Safeway has proposed cuts to pension and health-care plans and put forth an idea to allocate $9 million or more from the retiree benefit fund to current worker benefits. A top priority for workers is higher staffing levels in stores; workers say low staffing creates an unsafe work environment and causes problems for customers like long lines, low stock on shelves and errant pricing. Cordova says Albertsons has been unwilling to budge on staffing.

"Contrary to recent claims made by UFCW Local 7, Safeway’s current proposal is competitive and, in many aspects, meets or exceeds offers made by King Soopers," Safeway counters. "Our proposal includes meaningful wage increases, continued investment in secure healthcare coverage, and the long-term stability of the pension plan, reflecting both the dedication of our associates and the real economic conditions facing our industry."

Safeway adds that the company thinks the health care and pension offers are adequate.

Both Safeway workers and King Soopers workers, who are currently negotiating with their parent company Kroger, say they have seen the same sort of proposals. Cordova alleges the two companies have worked together to offer the same contracts so that they can both give fewer concessions to workers.

In 2022, Kroger announced it would purchase Albertsons in a $24.6 billion merger — Kroger has 148 stores in Colorado and Albertsons has 105 — but the agreement was canceled in December 2024 after federal regulators and courts ruled against the merger, saying the consolidation would create an anticompetitive grocery market in the country.

But Cordova argues that the companies are still negotiating as one despite suing each other over the failed merger.

"Safeway needs to come back to the table and bargain in good in good faith," Cordova says. "They did not prepare for a labor dispute. ...They literally thought workers were not going to strike since King Soopers struck. They thought they were going to sit this out. We are not letting them sit this out."

King Soopers workers in Colorado have regularly walked out over the years, including a strike as recently as February. But Safeway workers have not authorized strikes since 1996, according to Cordova. Now the two companies are mirroring each other, so the workers plan to do the same.

According to a statement from Safeway, the company plans to continue negotiating with workers.

“While negotiations continue, our stores across Colorado remain open and committed to delivering the exceptional service our customers deserve," a statement from the company says. "We’re grateful to our associates for their continued dedication to the communities we serve.”

Products Could Be Impacted by Denver Distribution Strike

In Denver, the Safeway distribution center near Interstate 70 was the first facility to strike. Cordova says those workers supply all of the meat that is cut and processed in stores. The deli, seafood and butcher sections of Safeway stores won't receive products while workers are on strike, she says.

That includes both fresh and frozen meat that is cut and processed internally. However, when Westword checked the butcher and deli sections at four metro-area stores days after the strike began, they still appeared to be fully stocked.

According to Safeway, the distribution center is up and running despite the strike as the strike is concentrated only on the meat warehouse. Images on UFCW Local 7 social media show picket lines at the distribution center, which have been visited by Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser and Senator John Hickenlooper.

The Teamsters also have unionized employers who work out of the Safeway distribution facility. The Teamsters workers are not on strike, but Cordova says they have given assurances that they won't cross the Safeway workers' picket line. If that holds true, produce in Safeway stores could also be impacted as Teamsters workers are responsible for delivering produce to Safeway locations in metro Denver. As of June 24, produce sections appeared to be intact in Denver.

When Will the Safeway Strike End?

Unlike the King Soopers strike in February that was planned to last for two weeks, the Safeway strike has no set end date. Cordova says the workers will keep the strike going until Albertson's begins bargaining in good faith without colluding with King Soopers.

Until then, more locations will be added to the strikes to apply more pressure. At this point, workers in metro Denver, Boulder, Broomfield, Conifer, Evergreen, Idaho Springs, Parker, Salida, Steamboat Springs, Fort Morgan, Salida and Vail have all voted to authorize strikes, but haven't walked out yet. Workers in Colorado Springs and northern Colorado also voted to authorize strikes this week. Cordova says the union has given proper notice for Safeway locations to strike at any time.

"It could be by the hour. It could be by the day," Cordova says. "We don't have to give any notice."

As more locations go on strike, UFCW Local 7 is updating the tally on social media. Those curious can consult the union's X profile. Below is the announcement of the first Denver location to strike:

What do we want, Safeway #244? A contract! 📢
When do we want it? Now!
If we don’t get it? Shut it down! ✊
Welcome to the ULP strike, Store #244 — let’s make some noise! #UFCW7 #ULPStrike #ShutItDown #UnionStrong #SafewayStrike #SafewayULPStrike #ulpstrike pic.twitter.com/t9Bl1aQccb

— UFCW Local 7 (@UFCW_7) June 20, 2025