King Soopers temporary restraining order against union partially granted as strike continues

DENVER (KKTV) - A temporary restraining order by King Soopers against striking workers in Colorado has been granted, in part.

The temporary restraining order was filed on Tuesday and an order was granted Tuesday night. You can read the order at the bottom of this article. The strike by Union UFCW Local 7 includes thousands of employees across dozens of stores in the Denver area. The strike started on Wednesday of last week. As of Tuesday, no Colorado Springs stores were included in the strike.

Part of the order reads, “...this Court finds credible that the following actions on the part of picketers constitute a threat to the physical safety of employees, customers and vendors: preventing customers from parking in handicap parking spaces; aggressively approaching customers while the customers are in their vehicles; refusing to allow customers into the store; referring to employees utilizing a racial epithet that has a long history of accompanying violence towards members of that racial group; the Court specifically finds that use of such racial epithet, by its very nature, constitutes a threat of violence; physically blocking the entrance of children to a store, making the children fear for their safety; making offensive comments regarding the genitals of a customer; yelling and coming within a foot of customers faces during the COVID pandemic; throwing a picket sign in the vicinity of a customer; physical assuming a “fighting stance” towards a customer; physically confronting a customer and yelling at her to the point of making the customer “physically and emotionally sick”; use of profanity directed at customers and employees; following customers to a gas station and a bank after customer left the store; threatening employees with statements such as “I know where you live”; driving recklessly in a store parking lot near an employee; and leaving nails near the tires of an employee’s vehicle.”

Under the order, those taking part in the strike are restrained from:

- Impeding the ingress or egress of any customer, employee, vendor, or vehicle;

- Picketing, congregating, loitering, or gathering in front of, on, or near King Soopers’ facilities in any manner other than by the maintenance of 10 or fewer pickets on the premises and perimeter of each one of King Soopers’ facilities, provided that such pickets shall not block or stand in front of entrances, shall not block or stand in front of vehicles entering or leaving King Soopers’ facilities, including delivery vehicles, and shall not in any manner impede the ingress or egress of any vehicle, including delivery vehicles;

- Interfering with, injuring, menacing, threatening, molesting, intimidating, shouting at any person within 20 feet of that person, or physically obstructing, in any manner whatsoever, any person employed by King Soopers or any customer, supplier, visitor, officer, representative, for-hire carrier, or agent of King Soopers, or any other person with a lawful right of entry to King Soopers’ facilities; and

- Following any vehicle or employee of King Soopers or its customers, suppliers, and carriers, or any person leaving King Soopers’ facilities, off said premises in any manner whatsoever.

If necessary, a hearing on this matter is scheduled for Jan. 28.

UFCW provided the following statement in regards to the temporary restraining order being filed:

Negotiations are still underway on Tuesday. King Soopers provided 11 News with the following statement on why they filed the order:

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