King Soopers’ lawsuit against United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7 was dropped Wednesday when the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado granted the union’s motion to dismiss the case.
The Kroger-owned banner originally filed a lawsuit against the UFCW Local 7 in February, claiming the union violated the National Labor Relations Act by forcing the grocer into unlawful multi-union bargaining in the fall of 2024 with other labor groups that don’t have ties with the grocer.
This legal battle began following unsuccessful collective bargaining negotiations for new contracts and a nearly two-week strike covering approximately 10,000 unionized workers across nearly 80 King Soopers stores in Colorado in early February.
In April, UFCW Local 7 filed counterclaims against King Soopers, accusing the grocer of acting in “bad faith” and violating the 100-day stand-down agreement the two sides came to after the strike. At the time, the union claimed its members suffered damages like potential lost wages and benefits for workers due to the grocery company, according to the counterclaim.
UFCW Local 7, which represents approximately 11,000 King Soopers and City Market workers, views this ruling as another victory for grocery workers: “This lawsuit was just another meritless effort to crush working people and silence their voices, something [the judge] clearly recognized,” union local President Kim Cordova said in an emailed statement.
“Now more than ever, corporate interests are trying to squeeze working families in Colorado and across the nation. Workers in Colorado were forced to strike two different grocery giants this year, each of which sought to slash compensation for workers all the while dramatically increasing prices paid by consumers,” Cordova said in response to the Wednesday ruling.
King Soopers did not respond by press time to a request for comment.
King Soopers and UFCW Local 7 have 21 days from the date of the judge’s decision to amend their pleadings.
