Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Smith’s, Food 4 Less employees ratify union contract

Smith's Food & Drug and Food 4 Less grocery store workers in Las Vegas have ratified a new labor agreement, the stores' owner said today.

Kroger Co. of Cincinnati, one of the nation's largest grocers, said the contract covers workers who are members of United Food & Commercial Workers Union Local 711.

The agreement covers more than 2,800 Smith's workers and 900 Food 4 Less employees in 47 stores in and around Las Vegas, Kroger said.

Union officials could not immediately be reached for comment on the contract; and details on the deal were not immediately available from Kroger.

For more than a year the UFCW local has been in contract talks with Smith's, Food 4 Less, Albertsons, Lucky and Vons. The UFCW has also been busy picketing local nonunion Wal-Mart stores.

Jim Hallsey, president of Smith's, and Dave Hirz, president of Food 4 Less, said in a statement: "This agreement maintains quality jobs and affordable health care for our associates and their families in this challenging economy and keeps our stores competitive."

Despite the national economic recession, Kroger reported Dec. 9 that its revenue and profit levels remained high as it worked to sell more value items to cost-conscious consumers.

Sales of $17.6 billion for the third quarter ended Nov. 8 were up 9 percent while the quarterly profit was $237.7 million, down from $253.8 million a year earlier.

Steve Green can be reached at 990-7714 or [email protected].

Join the Discussion:

Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.

Full comments policy