Safeway, Inc., presented Colorado grocery workers on Wednesday with a final five-year contract offer.

But the union representing workers says it is “disappointed” with the offer. It was unclear yesterday whether the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7 would organize a vote of its membership to officially decide on the contract offer.

Contract extensions for both Safeway and King Soopers employees ends at midnight on Saturday. Offers from the two supermarket chains are expected to be similar.

Not necessarily last offer

UFCW spokeswoman Laura Chapin said the final offer from Safeway is not necessarily their so-called “last, best and final” offer, which means it is unclear whether the union would need to take action on it.

Safeway spokeswoman Kristine Staaf told the Denver Daily News that the offer was the company’s final, but would not elaborate on whether it was the chain’s “last, best and final.”

“This action by the company did not come lightly,” Staaf said in a statement. “It has been our sincere desire to reach a negotiated settlement, but after 17 session with the union, beginning some five months ago in early April, the parties have been unable to resolve their considerable differences.”

Strike soon?

With the contract ending Saturday, workers could choose to strike. Safeway workers have already voted to authorize a strike if the company does not offer a contract proposal that includes “livable wages and a secure retirement.”

Crisanta Duran, legal counsel for UFCW Local 7, said the offer has hardly changed since April when discussions began. Grocery workers are seeking preventative health care coverage to be added to their policies, and for their pension plan to be fully funded. The grocery corporations have proposed cutting pension funding, but have reached a tentative agreement to include preventative health care coverage.

Union members — about 17,000 grocery workers at Safeway, King Soopers/City Market and Albertson’s — are also seeking a “modest wage increase,” that equals about 75 cents per hour, said Chapin.

Also at issue is the two-tier wage system in which workers hired after May 2005 receive $1 less per hour and have to wait a year to get health care for themselves and three years for their families.

Albertson’s workers are currently operating without a contract, but are still technically protected by the previous contract, said Chapin. Negotiations with that chain are ongoing.

“These are highly profitable corporations with CEOs making millions,” said Duran. “They are thriving in this economy thanks to the very workers whose wages and pensions they want to cut.”

Safeway says it has offered a fair contract, including pay raises, shortened dependent wait time for health coverage and access to a new “first-class” health and care management program. Staaf added that the final offer also includes millions of dollars in increased employer pension contributions.

Temporary workers sought

Meanwhile, King Soopers and Safeway continue to look for temporary workers in case grocery workers choose to strike. Applications are being accepted at stores across the state.

The two companies have also agreed to lock out employees if workers from one store go on strike. In other words, if Safeway workers decide to put up the picket lines, King Soopers would lock out its employees that are part of the union.

“We always want to be prepared,” said Diane Mulligan, spokeswoman for King Soopers. “We’re coming up to the end of a contract on Sept. 12th, and so we need to make sure that our customers are taken care of. We always prepare ourselves with temporary workers, but we hope that we never have to call anybody that we’ve gotten on the list. But just in case, we have to be prepared to keep the stores open and be able to take care of our customers.”

Patrick McCurdy, a five-year King Soopers employee from Morrison, seemed insulted by actions taken by the grocery chains.

“This shows a lack of trust on the corporation’s side and a belief that they can’t get it done having open negotiations with their own workers,” said McCurdy. “If these people weren’t good enough to be employed already by the stores, I don’t see how they’re good enough to replace their loyal workers.”