A flurry of moves and counter-moves made Saturday by leaders of striking workers and King Soopers offered glimpses into the leverage both sides hold as the picketing entered a second week.

At the outset, both sides maintained they are committed to ending the conflict.

They also agreed that time is of the essence.

Yet both sides appeared to position time as giving their side the advantage.

In pushing to get the union to the negotiating table, King Soopers said workers run the risk of losing health coverage starting in April, since they might not have accrued enough work hours in February to be eligible for healthcare contributions.

The union, on the other hand, has publicly said it is prepared to extend the strike, which will cost the grocer in lost hours, as its affected stores have reduced operating hours. The bigger expense, however, comes in the form of temporary workers King Soopers has hired to fill jobs. Joe Kelley, the company’s president, earlier said hiring temporary workers is costly, as the company also has to cover travel and hotel lodging.

King Soopers warns striking workers could see lapse in health coverage

King Soopers on Saturday asked the leadership of striking union members to start negotiations and agree to not picket while talks are ongoing, even as it hinted that employees may begin losing health coverage in April if a deal isn’t reached soon.

The request, addressed to Kim Cordova, president of the UFCW Local 7, also said the company is exploring “other potentially available options” if the union rejects the latest request to negotiate and reach an agreement.

The letter, sent by the company’s labor relations official, indicated that, without the guarantees sought by King Soopers, striking workers may not be able to immediately return to work since the grocer needs to schedule staffing its stores with temporary employees and that will have repercussions for their health care insurance.

The union didn’t immediately return a request for comment.

On Friday, King Soopers secured a temporary restraining order against the striking workers — but only partially.

That court order said the union must instruct its members to not impede delivery vehicles or put temporary structures up or piles of trash in front of the stores that block traffic into the store. The judge said the order has “only minimum restrictions” to protect the strikers’ right to peacefully protest.

The union and King Soopers have been at a standstill over contract negotiations since January. The United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7 called for a two-week strike starting in the metro Denver area on Feb. 6 against the Colorado grocery brand operated by Kroger.

It expanded to two stores in Pueblo, and Colorado Springs can be greenlit for a strike at anytime.

The union is calling its action an unfair labor practice strike, defined by the National Labor Relations Board as protests against illegal practices committed by employers on union members. It comes with stronger legal protections for striking workers, such as not allowing companies to fire workers for walking out.

King Soopers said the union’s unfair labor practices claims are “unfounded” and the board made no determinations. The grocer also filed an unfair labor practice charge against the union in December for not putting forth a wage proposal and “forcing the company to bargain against themselves.”

In his letter to Cordova, Ian Adams, the company’s senior director for labor relations, asked the union to formally agree not to call for a strike extension on Feb. 20 until the parties reach an agreement that is ratified by the workers. King Soopers gave the union until 5 p.m. on Feb. 16 to accept the offer.

Adams said King Soopers made its “last best and final offer” on Jan. 16 and the union never responded to it. He noted that the union has publicly said it might call for an additional strike beyond Feb. 20 if a new deal isn’t reached.

“Without timely advance notice of an unconditional offer to return to work, King Soopers will not be able to assess the impact of a return to work on operations and scheduling,” he said. “Of course, we will need to continue scheduling and staffing stores consistent with business needs, which could result in delays in returning strikers if sufficient notice isn’t given.”

He added: “King Soopers wants to be in a position to return striking associates to their regular schedules at the earliest date reasonable under the circumstances at the conclusion of the strike activity. There may be striking associates that are likely to not meet the hours eligibility requirements to receive healthcare contributions for February — which will affect insurance coverage for April for those associates.”

UFCW Local 7 has alleged King Soopers intimidated workers during contract bargaining and kept information from them that would have helped the union put forward proposals. The union filed the complaints with the National Labor Relations Board.

Cordova, the union leader, earlier said staffing shortages are a top concern. She said customers are affected by long lines, empty shelves and purchases on receipts not matching sticker prices due to a lack of workers.

“The one thing they pay attention to is their profit and we know that Super Bowl and Valentine’s Day are very important to them,” she earlier told reporters.

Last week, Kelley said the union chose to strike with the Super Bowl and Valentines day in mind.

“She specifically called it this week over Super Bowl and over Valentine’s Day to try to hurt us, and all the more reason why we need to keep our stores open to be a solution for our customers, our guests and the communities that we serve,” he told The Denver Gazette in a phone interview.

Union says it will end strike and negotiate if grocer makes concessions

Leaders of the striking workers countered with their own offer — provide the union with information it has been seeking for five months and they will pull down all picket lines.

The union asked for the information — it didn’t say what exactly but disclosed it is proprietary and deals with sales data — by Feb. 20, the scheduled end date of the current two-week strike. UFCW Local 7’s leaders have publicly said they could extend that strike.

“As I have previously indicated, Local 7 remains committed to returning to the negotiating table, but productive discussions will not be possible without the production of certain information that the Union has been requesting for 5 months and that the Company continues to refuse to provide,” said Kim Cordova, president of UFCW Local 7, in a statement.

Cordova said time is of the essence, noting that the grocer’s meat and deli workers in Pueblo will join the strike at 6 a.m. Sunday.

“It is my earnest hope that such an outcome will not be necessary,” she said, adding she forwards to discussions with Ian Adams, the company’s senior director for labor relations.

The union’s counter said that, upon receiving the information it is seeking from the grocer and execution of its offer, it would “pull down all picket lines” within four hours.

Under its counteroffer, the union promised not to call for another strike until a new collective bargaining agreement is reached between the two parties or for the next 45 days — effectively a strike moratorium — after workers end their current strike.

In addition, the union asked King Soopers to dismiss its lawsuit against UFCW Local 7. In return, the union said it would withdraw the unfair labor practice charges it filed against the grocer with the National Labor Relations Board.

The union asked a few more concessions:

Give striking employees until the third calendar day after the strike is ended to return to work and to also terminate any temporary workers hired to fill jobs

Guarantee no retaliation or discrimination against the picketing workers and not offer or promise any benefit to employees who have decided to show up to work

Pay for the healthcare contribution in March in order to ensure April coverage for workers, regardless of whether they accrue enough hours this month — so long as they met the required 80 hours in January

“Although your letter to me indicates a desire to return to the bargaining table, these words ring hollow without an agreement to cure the unfair labor practices that got us here,” Cordova said in her letter to Adams, adding several company executives had promised her the company would produce the data the union is after.

‘Available options’

In its letter, the grocer said it might have to explore “other potentially available options” if a deal with the union isn’t reached soon.

“Without such an agreement, King Soopers will be left with little choice but to consider other potentially available options toward the end of achieving successor agreements — ones that will protect the livelihoods of our associates and the long-term stability of our business,” Adams said in his communication to Cordova.

The company didn’t elaborate, but Cordova’s letter to Adams hinted at the points of contention — and where agreements might occur.

Among other things, the union said it wants the grocer to withdraw a portion of its “last, best, and final offer” that would redirect contributions that would otherwise be made into the retiree health care benefit plan.

Also, the union said King Soopers should not “not unilaterally implement any offer it makes during these negotiations or any portions thereof.”

“The Employer shall not directly deal with employees concerning a successor agreement,” the union added.

Reporter Bernadette Berdychowski contributed to this article.