Two-week, 10,000-worker Strike Against Kroger Cut Short

Demetri K.

A union representing more than 10,000 striking workers at King Soopers grocery chain agreed to a “return-to-work settlement” two days before the end of the strike’s initial two-week duration.

King Soopers is a subsidiary of Kroger, the second largest grocery chain in the United States.

The United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) local 7 began its strike across 77 grocery stores in Colorado on February 6. The union launched an Unfair Labor Practices (ULP) strike following months of failed negotiations for a new contract.

Amid the deepening economic crisis, Kroger is attempting to cut as many corners as possible, driving down wages, driving up work tempo, and leaving retirees out to dry.

Demands for a new union contact concerned wage increases proportional to the cost of living in Colorado. Other issues included understaffing (“workers were having to do the job of 2 to 3 [people], skip breaks and lunches” according to union officials), anti-union intimidation—including selectively disciplining and sending workers home for wearing union apparel—and preventing outsourcing labor to non-union workers. The union also sought to protect retiree benefits in light of Kroger withdrawing $8 million of retirement health benefit funds.

The strike was slated to end after two weeks to “ensure customers would understand worker concerns and management would have time to respond”, according to Kim Cordova, union president. Per social media posts, workers would receive up to $800 per week from strike funds. Such time-bound strikes had recently been led by nurses unions, Amazon Teamsters, and Starbucks workers.

King Soopers retaliated with a federal lawsuit against the union on grounds that it brought out-of-state unions into negotiations. The company also filed a temporary restraining order against thousands of picketers, claiming “unsafe conditions” from space heaters on the freezing picket lines. The restraining order was partially accepted by a Denver judge, who ordered that the picketers could not block delivery vehicles from crossing the picket line or erect structures.

After Kroger’s foiled attempt at expanding its monopoly—the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) challenged the chain’s merger with competitor Albertson’s last December—it spent $7.5 billion on stock buybacks to keep its share price afloat.

These funds could have instead been channeled “to improve our food supply, reduce prices, reduce food deserts…and hire 125,691 full-time employees”, according to Kathy Finn, President of UFCW 770. The union’s statements condemn Kroger for “predatory pricing”, robbing people at the checkout counter as well as robbing workers—an effect of the imperialist ruling class forcing the burden of the economic crisis onto the working classes.

Photo: UFCW Local 7 King Soopers workers on strike.

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