DENVER (CN) — A Colorado grocery store on Thursday asked a Denver judge to issue a restraining order against striking union workers to limit the number of picketers at each store and prohibit them from interacting with customers.
“We’ve been down this road six times with this union, same issues, same arguments,” said attorney Raymond Deeny, on behalf of Kroger-owned Colorado grocery chain King Soopers.
“The evidence is overwhelming that this union has engaged in mass picketing violence and engaged in conduct that is unacceptable,” added Deeny, who practices with the Denver firm Taft Stettinius.
United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7 filed an unfair labor practices complaint with the National Labor Relations Board before starting its two-week strike on Feb. 6, days before the Super Bowl and a week before Valentine’s Day, when shoppers often splurge.
The union represents 23,000 workers across Colorado and Wyoming, including 12,000 King Soopers and City Market employees, about 10,000 of whom are on strike in Pueblo and the Denver metro area.
Within the strike’s first week, King Sooper’s parent Dillon Companies fired off two lawsuits: a federal complaint claiming the union unfairly colluded with out of state unions in negotiations, and a state suit over union members impeding grocery store traffic.
In the state suit, the grocery company requested on Thursday a temporary restraining order that would limit stores to six picketers, and require them to maintain a distance of 20 feet from customers, employees and vendors.
Second Judicial District Judge Sarah Wallace pressed Deeny for evidence of illegal activities, beyond the declarations submitted which she found filled with hearsay.
“I’m happy to enjoin illegal behavior, but I’m not going to do it on an employee saying ‘I overheard someone say they saw this,’” Wallace said.
As King Sooper’s sole witness, Deeny called assistant asset protector Kevin McClanahan to the stand to walk the court through parking lot surveillance videos.
To sum up six days of illegal activity across 80 stores, McClanahan pointed to a tent set up near the entrance of one Aurora store, which was removed after security guards asked picketers to do so.
At a store on South Sheridan, picketers brought out two propane heaters to stave off the falling snow, which McClanahan worried posed a danger to customers. At other stores, picketers delayed a truck from making a delivery, walked through crosswalks, and handed pamphlets to customers, he said.
According to McClanahan, one physical altercation occurred off Colorado Boulevard and Yale in Denver, when a picketer punched a security guard and was taken into police custody.
Deeny also claimed picketers swore at customers, telling them there was “cum” in the prepared food and not to “fucking go into the store.” Wallace asked King Sooper’s legal team to comb through more than two dozen submitted declarations to highlight where people reported direct observations.
When Deeny pushed back, Wallace stood her ground.
“You’re asking me to restrict First Amendment speech, and I’ll go by the standards, but not based on hearsay,” Wallace said. “I’m not sure why you’re showing any anger toward me when I’m going to apply the rules of evidence.”
“I’m not showing anger toward you, I’ve shown plenty of evidence to support the TRO,” Deeny said.
On behalf of the union, attorney Matt Schecter urged the court to deny the restraining order.
“Your honor saw what the company put on for their best example of illegal conduct. Customers were not impeded, customers could go through or walk around,” Schecter said.
Schecter added that he didn’t support picketers using profanity, but said the court couldn’t restrict speech for simply being rude.
“The union has instructed picketers not to do these things, the reason is not legal but because we don’t want customers to shop there,” Schecter explained. “It’s our right to communicate with customers and convince them not to shop at King Soopers.”
In announcing the strike, the union claimed the grocery company questioned union members about union activity and refused to provide sales data needed for staffing proposals during contract negotiations. According to the union, King Soopers also sent a contract proposal that would fund active worker pay increases by pulling from retiree health benefits.
Although King Soopers has implemented more self-checkout stands in recent years, workers say there still aren’t enough people to prepare food, stock shelves and help customers.
In response, the grocery company urged customers to continue shopping online with a coupon to waive delivery fees and highlighted workers’ above average wages.
According to a company spokesperson, King Soopers workers make an average hourly rate of $22.68, with healthcare and retirement benefits. Minimum wage is currently $14.81 in Colorado and $18.81 in Denver.
King Soopers brought similar claims against the union during its 2022 strike over wages, but dismissed the complaint when the parties reached a contract agreement.
Kroger, which owns Dillon Companies and King Soopers, faces two additional civil lawsuits in Denver alongside fellow grocery chain Albertsons over a non-compete agreement from the union’s January 2022 strike in which workers advocated for higher wages. According to the suit filed by Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser on Feb. 14, 2024, Albertsons agreed it would not hire striking King Soopers workers or poach pharmacy customers. A Jan. 31 worker-led class action is advancing similar claims.