They made good on that promise on June 15, joining the first cities to go on strike, including Fountain, Estes Park, and a Denver distribution center. Later in the day, workers from the Littleton Safeway also walked off the job,

Safeway workers are striking at the same time as contract negotiations between workers and King Soopers are coming to a head. The union is negotiating with King Soopers and parent Kroger after a strike in February. That strike lasted almost two weeks before a deal was reached to pause the labor action for 100 days. That pause expired last month.

A Spokane police detective shot and killed Johnny D. Jones, 33, after police confronted him for robbing a downtown Safeway store. The detective and witnesses said they thought Jones fired the first shot.

The union that represents 7,000 Safeway/Albertsons employees in Colorado terminated its contract extension with the company on Wednesday.