DENVER — Should grocery store employees not reach an agreement with King Soopers, expect to see picket lines outside store doors, according to the president of the union representing them.
“We would be picketing in front of the stores and at all of their entrances,” Kim Cordova, president of UFCW Local 7 said Tuesday.
Cordova answered questions from 9NEWS about the potential strike, while a spokesman for the Denver-based grocery store chain and its parent company, Kroger, chose not to elaborate on preparations.
The company said it would rather focus on upcoming negotiations.
Cordova insisted employees would be able to strike near the doors of the store, even as stores are on private property.
“There are laws that allow workers to engage in this type of action,” she said.
As for which stores may see more striking workers, Cordova said nearly all stores within the metro area are covered by the union “wall-to-wall," meaning UFCW Local 7 represents most of them. Some workers in different departments, like bakers and cake decorators, may be represented by a different union but may still strike.
“They may have in their own constitution and bylaws that they have the right to respect a picket,” Cordova said.
Some stores in the state don’t have any union representation inside. Others, including quite a few stores in Northern Colorado, especially between 120th Avenue and the Wyoming border.
The last time King Soopers experienced a strike was in 1996, when thousands of grocery store workers went on strike in the metro area. At that time, King Soopers, Safeway and Albertsons all negotiated with their employees as a group.
This time around, King Soopers is negotiating alone.
Cordova said things have changed quite a bit since that strike, as grocery shoppers now have quite a few more options of places to shop if they want to avoid picket lines.
In a way, that makes Cordova optimistic that a deal could be reached before a strike.
“I think there’s a path to a settlement if King Soopers comes down and they address the workers issues,” she said.
Both sides are due back at the table on Saturday.
More from Next with Kyle Clark