8,000 grocery store workers go on strike

Around 8,000 grocery store workers at 77 Soopers and City Markets stores in Denver are on strike after their union rejected the "best and final offer" as the company describes it. The workers' strike began on Wednesday morning against the stores which are part of Kroger, the nation's largest grocery retailer. 

The number of workers of the United Food & Commercial Workers union who are on strike makes it the second-largest strike in the last two years after the five-week worker stoppage by 10,000 auto workers at John Deere & Co. that ended in November. Last week, the rank-and-file workers at 77 Soopers and City Markets overwhelmingly voted to authorize the strike. The union did not hold a separate vote to consider the company's final offer. The union said that the offer made by the company would have created a subclass of gig workers, which claims it would be used to reduce the work hours and drain the company's fund for long-term employees. The union added that the offer did not address workers' concerns about covid safety measures. 

Kim Cordova, president of the local unit of the striking union said, "The company's last, best, and final offer, in many ways, is worse than its previous offers. Clearly, King Soopers/City Market will not voluntarily meet the needs of our workers, despite our repeated pleas for the company to listen to the voices of our members. We strike because it has become clear this is the only way to get what is fair, just, and equitable for the grocery workers who have risked their lives every day just by showing up to work during the pandemic."

Source: CNN