DENVER (KDVR) — A class action lawsuit was recently filed by local union workers against the Kroger Company and Albertsons, the owners of King Soopers and Safeway respectively.
The lawsuit is in response to certain unlawful “no-poach agreements” the grocery stores allegedly entered into during a 2022 strike against King Soopers and City Market by the union United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7 in Denver.
A spokesperson for the Kroger Company released a statement about the lawsuit and denied that there were any no-poach agreements between the two companies.
The spokesperson also said that data shows only between 1 and 2.5% of Kroger associates come from or move to Albertsons stores.
The allegations
According to the union, around 8,000 workers walked out at nearly 80 King Soopers stores during the 2022 strike.
A 2024 lawsuit filed by Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser alleged that during this strike, King Soopers owner Kroger entered into an agreement with Albertsons, who owns Safeway, to not hire any King Soopers workers.
Safeway also allegedly agreed to not solicit any of King Soopers’ pharmacy customers.
The agreement was reportedly talked about in an email between company executives ahead of the strike.
The class action lawsuit seeks lost wages “and other economic gains for workers” that could have been secured if the agreements did not exist.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
