Safeway workers in southern Colorado vote to authorize strike

PUEBLO, Colo. (KOAA) — Safeway and Albertsons workers in southern Colorado voted to authorize a strike on Thursday evening. Union members at Safeway stores in Pueblo, Fountain, and other areas of Colorado have voted to authorize a strike, according to the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union Local 7.

The strike authorization vote began at the end of May, with results announced late last night. No specific date has been set for when the strikes will begin, but the union must provide a 72-hour notice before any work stoppage.

Local 7 representatives say the labor action aims to address several key issues workers have brought up, including chronic understaffing, wages, healthcare benefits, and pensions.

"Our members are part of the community that these grocers serve, and they're stakeholders in their jobs, and they want to see better stores for their customers," said Local 7 President Kim Cordova.

Prior to the final vote, a Safeway spokesperson provided a statement saying: "We are committed to productive discussions with Local 7. We respect the rights of workers to engage in collective bargaining and are 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."

The strike authorization specifically affects Safeway and Albertsons locations in Pueblo and Fountain.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

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