Unions vs. Corporations
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- Date Submitted: 03/03/2010 06:58 PM
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Unions vs. Corporations
The clock is ticking; the stroke of midnight will signify that the contract for the two major Colorado grocery retail clerks has expired. Associates who work for King Soopers and Safeway are waiting with bated breath to learn what their fate will be. They’ve been through contract negotiations many times before, yet however many times the workers have gone through this, it is never easy. Rumors abound (no one truly knows all the facts), and tensions are rising. The Union and the Corporations hold the lives of the employees’ in the palms of their hands and until things are settled, no one will rest easily.
No one wants a strike, and even more so do not want a lockout which is what King Soopers is threatening to do if Safeway votes to strike. King Soopers and Safeway have already entered into an agreement allowing one to lock out its workers if the other loses its workers to a strike. Local 7 has said its members will receive $200 a week if they picket full-time until the union's strike fund runs out. The union will not disclose the size of Local 7's strike fund but said the union paid $10 million in such benefits during the 1996 strike. Either way, none will win if a strike/lockout ensues.
King Soopers, Colorado’s own full service retail grocery chain is one of the key players in this scenario. The grocery chain opened the doors of its first store in June of 1947 by founder Lloyd King. Today, the company employs over 19,000 people and has 141 stores throughout the state of Colorado. King Soopers’ company president, Russ Dispense is a Denver native who began his career with Kings in 1965 as a courtesy clerk. Although he has worked for different divisions within Kroger, including president of Smiths, another division of Kroger located in Salt Lake City, returning to Colorado to take the helm of King Soopers in 2001 was a homecoming to him. Mr. Dispense is responsible for, “operations, merchandising, everything associated with the...
The clock is ticking; the stroke of midnight will signify that the contract for the two major Colorado grocery retail clerks has expired. Associates who work for King Soopers and Safeway are waiting with bated breath to learn what their fate will be. They’ve been through contract negotiations many times before, yet however many times the workers have gone through this, it is never easy. Rumors abound (no one truly knows all the facts), and tensions are rising. The Union and the Corporations hold the lives of the employees’ in the palms of their hands and until things are settled, no one will rest easily.
No one wants a strike, and even more so do not want a lockout which is what King Soopers is threatening to do if Safeway votes to strike. King Soopers and Safeway have already entered into an agreement allowing one to lock out its workers if the other loses its workers to a strike. Local 7 has said its members will receive $200 a week if they picket full-time until the union's strike fund runs out. The union will not disclose the size of Local 7's strike fund but said the union paid $10 million in such benefits during the 1996 strike. Either way, none will win if a strike/lockout ensues.
King Soopers, Colorado’s own full service retail grocery chain is one of the key players in this scenario. The grocery chain opened the doors of its first store in June of 1947 by founder Lloyd King. Today, the company employs over 19,000 people and has 141 stores throughout the state of Colorado. King Soopers’ company president, Russ Dispense is a Denver native who began his career with Kings in 1965 as a courtesy clerk. Although he has worked for different divisions within Kroger, including president of Smiths, another division of Kroger located in Salt Lake City, returning to Colorado to take the helm of King Soopers in 2001 was a homecoming to him. Mr. Dispense is responsible for, “operations, merchandising, everything associated with the...