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Puget Sound Allied Grocery workers reach tentative contractPuget Sound Allied Grocery workers reach tentative contract

Negotiations have taken a turn in New Mexico with UFCW Local 1564 filing an unfair labor practices complaint

Timothy Inklebarger, Editor

June 18, 2025

1 Min Read
Albertsons storefront
This comes after the union approved a strike authorization with 97% of the vote, UFCW 3000 said in a press release earlier this week.Shutterstock

United Food and Commercial Workers Local 3000 workers in the Puget Sound area have reached a tentative contract agreement with Albertsons-owned banners and several independent grocery chains.

This comes after the union approved a strike authorization with 97% of the vote, UFCW 3000 said in a press release earlier this week.

The union noted that the tentative contract includes:

  • New staffing language 

  • Strong training wage increases

  • Health and pension funding that precludes benefit cuts 

  • Contract alignment with Snohomish Grocery and Spokane-area grocery and meat workers, uniting nearly 30,000 grocery workers across Washington

  • A five-year path to wage parity with grocery workers for general merchandise workers

  • Investment in a produce apprenticeship program

  • A pathway for hundreds of Kroger workers to the union in Washington and Idaho 

Meanwhile, union activity has taken a different turn in New Mexico, where UFCW Local 1564 in mid-June filed unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board against Smith’s and Albertsons, alleging the companies are not bargaining in good faith, according to a story in the Albuquerque Journal.

The newspaper reported that the union, which represents more than 2,500 Smith’s workers and roughly 1,200 Albertsons workers, accuses the two grocery chains of colluding on bargaining proposals. 

Related:California Kroger, Albertsons contracts include new pension plan, self-checkout rules

Smith’s denied the allegations. 

Negotiations began in May on contracts that were set to expire earlier this month but were extended through an agreement between the chains and the unions, according to the report. 

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About the Author

Timothy Inklebarger

Editor

Timothy Inklebarger is an editor with Supermarket News. 

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