Business

DENVER (CBS4/AP) ― A union representing about 17,000 grocery workers in Colorado has filed complaints accusing grocery chains of violating federal labor law as they face a May 9 deadline in contract talks.

United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7 said Saturday that the companies have violated the National Labor Relations Act by not disclosing the terms of their agreement to team up in the bargaining. The union also claims King Soopers' ads for temporary workers at $10.25 an hour violate federal law because the wage exceeds the pay for many union workers.

"The $10.25 an hour is actually less than the average King Soopers employee makes when you go across the board," Diane Mulligan with King Soopers said. "Plus there are no benefits with that."

Temporary workers would be hired if union members went out on strike.

"The whole idea of making sure that we can identify the people that would be able to come in and replace any type of striking workers so that the customer would be able to get the same type of service that they've always gotten; that's one of the reasons that we have to be prepared," Mulligan said.

"It appears as though the companies are engaging in fear tactics against their own workers to try to scare them from getting a fair deal at the negotiation table," said Crisanta Duran, UFCW Attorney.

There was a steady handful of people applying at the King Soopers in the Stapleton neighborhood on Monday.

"I'm just coming in to fill out an application," job seeker Ashford Wortham said.

It's a bit of an awkward situation as job seekers fill out paper work just steps from where employees take their break. Nakeyia Brown says it doesn't bother her.

"I feel that if they feel that we are looking for their job, then they shouldn't go on strike," Brown said. "Based on how the economy is now, they should want to keep their job."

King Soopers and Safeway representatives declined to comment on the other complaint except to say that they routinely coordinate bargaining with each other. An Albertsons spokeswoman did not immediately respond to an e-mail message Saturday night.

The union's contracts with King Soopers/City Market, Safeway and Albertsons expire May 9. The 31 employees at Safeway's meat warehouse have voted to authorize a strike if a new agreement isn't reached by the deadline.

Thousands of other Safeway workers are to vote May 8 and 9 on whether to authorize a strike.

Duran said Saturday that the companies have refused to say what's in their agreement to coordinate bargaining with each other. She said the union wants to know if the companies have agreed to lock out all employees if union members vote to walk off the job at just one chain.

In 1996, Safeway workers were locked out when King Soopers went on strike.

"Before workers vote, it's important they know what the agreement is between King Soopers and Safeway," Duran said. "It's a very big decision that could be detrimental to thousands of workers across the state."

Union and grocery chain officials said the hope is to agree on a new contract before the current one expires.

"We're ready to go around the clock between now and the deadline," Duran said of contract negotiators.

"If we are serious about restoring the economy, we need to make sure middle class grocery workers are able to support their families with a livable wage and a secure retirement," the union said in a prepared statement.

(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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