Union workers are expected to march on Xcel Energy’s headquarters at 18th and Larimer streets at lunchtime Friday.

IBEW Local 111 Xcel Energy Employees said Thursday evening that the unionists would “be joined by community leaders, retirees, elected officials and their families” to protest a company decision in their contract they say will reduce wages and pensions, as well as eliminate retiree health benefits.

the two sides have been negotiating a contract for seven months.

“Xcel is proposing to take away healthcare coverage from people who have served utility customers for decades and have proposed to replace it with unaffordable and short-term ‘benefits,’ IBEW Local 111 business manager Eppie Martinez said in a statement. “They are asking these retirees to go without healthcare regardless of their current health situations, which include many who are suffering from illnesses such as cancer, diabetes and other chronic diseases. This is the definition of corporate greed.”

According to the Denver Area Labor Federation, Xcel want to replace their current pension “with a cash balance plan for new employees that would drastically reduce benefits for future workers when they retire, accompanied by a dramatic reduction in the bargaining unit’s 401 (k) Plan.”

“Xcel’s proposal would not allow retirees a dignified retirement,” the federation states. “Indeed, Xcel’s own people have described their plan as providing a lower benefit value than is provided by other public utilities, even though Colorado is one of the richest states in the nation.”

Xcel has 3,783 employees in Colorado, and 53 percent are union members.

The protest is expected to last from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.