A Safeway strike that began last week came to Colorado Springs on Sunday. It continued into Monday for union members who work at the Safeway located at 1121 N. Circle Drive.

Strikers chanted and carried signs up and down the front sidewalk of the centrally located store. This is the first location in Colorado Springs to join the statewide strike and the first time in 29 years workers from this store have struck.

Some customers, after seeing the strike, turned around to take their business elsewhere or honked their horns in support. Others ignored the strikers and carried on inside. Some were simply there to pick up medications at the pharmacy, which strikers acknowledged.

One customer, 89-year-old Vietnam War and Air Force veteran John Townsend came to stand with the workers. He first arrived in the morning and came back to support those on the line, he said. In the past, he worked for a trucking company and, as a member of a union, would go on strike when needed.

He didn’t raise a sign, but he sat on bleachers set up outside the store in a show of support.

“I’ve been coming here since this store was built and have volunteered as an assistant store manager in the past, but I am not going to go against the union,” Townsend said. “I know just about everybody here. I hope these people get what they were told they’d get.”

“These are good people,” he said.

Union members allege Safeway and its parent company Albertsons were unable to agree to contract terms after nine months of negotiations.

The Safeway/Albertsons company made $959 million in net profits last year, less than the $1.3 billion it made in 2023, according to Albertsons news releases. The Union claims Safeway/Albertsons is providing wage increases for union members at the expense of pension and healthcare funds for retired employees.

“They’re trying to remove $8 million from our retirees’ health fund to pay for wage increases for these workers,” said Dominic Rossi, the strike captain and a 22-year union member. “They’re robbing Peter to pay Paul. They’re taking away from people who’ve put in 30 and 40 years working hard for this company to basically line their own pockets.”

“It’s just despicable. Despicable,” he said.

The apparent disparity between the company’s net profits and its alleged gutting of pension and health care money was not lost on members of the picket line. Chants to the tune of “Safeway’s pockets are lined with gold” echoed off the front of the building and through the parking lot.

Safeway’s parent company, Albertsons, denies the allegations that they’re moving money from healthcare and pension funds to provide for wage increases. The company also claimed its proposals to the union met or exceeded the offers made by King Soopers, a competing grocery chain owned by Kroger.

The Gazette was unable to independently verify this claim.

“Safeway in Colorado remains committed to productive discussions with UFCW Local 7, and we are disappointed the union has chosen to strike some of our stores in Colorado,” a statement provided to the Gazette said. “Our proposal includes meaningful wage increases, continued investment in secure healthcare coverage, and the long-term stability of the pension plan, reflecting both the dedication of our associates and the real economic conditions facing our industry.”

The company said it strongly rejects allegations of inadequate or unstable health care and pension offerings, adding the allegation of unfair labor practice is “without merit.”

Almost all of the approximately 400 union members working at Colorado Springs Safeway stores voted to authorize a strike. But they had to wait as the union slowly rolled out the unfair labor practices strike.

Now that it’s started, Rossi asked the community to stand with the union.

“This is labor’s one tool and it’s our last resort,” Rosssi said. “It’s always our last resort to go on strike.”