This post is different from my normal posts, but I think these are troubling signs of the times ahead and they need to be shared. I am not trying to make this a political post by any means of the imagination. I am merely the messenger, showing you what I saw. This is happening everywhere, not just here in the Denver Metro area.
King Soopers, is one of our major grocery chains here. Their parent company is Kroger’s. Many of our King Soopers Grocery stores went on strike yesterday at 5:00 AM. Many stores are franchises and they did not go on strike. However the ones closest to my house are on strike and the picketers are marching in front of the stores. So far, there are at least 77 stores that are striking. They are planning to be on strike for at least 3 weeks.
I have mixed feelings about the strike in general, but I think the strikers are playing a dangerous game of Russian roulette at the moment, with so many people being out of work. Regardless of your feelings about the strike, there are many people all around who are out of work and need to pay their bills. I think many of those out of work would be happy to cross the picket lines in order to earn a pay check to help their families out. And King Soopers will hire them in an instant. They have to. People need to eat and grocery stores need to provide food and people to run those stores. This isn’t about feelings or principals. Food is a necessity for everyone. It is survival.
I found out about the strike on Tuesday, so I did most of my shopping then, but of course I forgot some things and needed to go back to the store. I was also very curious to see what was going on. King Soopers is where I do the bulk of my grocery shopping, along with Sprouts and Costco.
I did not cross the picket line this time, though I will when I need to. I need groceries and food, and we may not have other options if this persists. Our other main grocery chain is Safeway. I am not a big fan of Safeway, but I will go if need be. I went to Safeway yesterday. I asked the checker if she thought they would follow suit, and she said “Yes, if the strike goes on longer than Feb. 3”. She also said “these strikes will continue until they (the management) meet their demands (the strikers)”. HMMMMMM! Scary stuff, especially when this is what the stores all around are looking like. These bare shelves were in Safeway, but the shelves of King Soopers are looking the same way.
Unfortunately, these are a common sight seen in many grocery stores across the nation, and it doesn’t look like things are going to get any better any time soon. This is very sad and very scary. Like most everyone else, I really don’t know what to make of these troubling times ahead. What I do know is that the longer this is allowed to go on, the worse things are gong to be for everyone. We have to find a way to work things out, regardless of our differences.
A Jeanne in the Kitchen 
My brother (who lives in Littleton) called me yesterday about this too. He said exactly the same thing you are saying here. He was saying that they were on strike, but it’s unclear what they are even striking about. They said something about safety and the local media tried to make it about covid, but it seems some of them are mostly worried about dealing with violence and theft (as both are spiking in the Denver area and people who work in retail catch the brunt of it). Who knows.
I follow the financial markets closely, so I was pretty worked up about the supply chain shortage. I pushed my family to stock up on necessities months ago, so they have full cupboards and freezers – a blessing if y’all are dealing with this now too. Having that many grocery stores affected seems like it would be a huge deal. But I think it is clear this is the political strategy now… Every time an election cycle rolls around, they try to break the world. There’s no logic to it, but you know it is going to happen. Things seem like they are getting better and then an election year demands some fresh new Armageddon. Everyone is tired of it.
A big part of the empty shelves now is the testing fetish over omicron at every link of the supply chain and food production. We are getting them here in Florida too, in a state with no worker strikes and zero covid restrictions. They are just breaking the national and international system because they can. In my family, we had a habit of going to the grocery store on a daily basis to get fresh food, but after all this, I will never again be caught with an empty pantry – these folks are psycho and they mean to do real harm to essential services. Same with covid in general though. The weaker the virus gets, the more insane they get. They have harsher protocols in some states now than they had in 2020, when the virus was actually novel. My friends in California say they are demanding N95 masks for preschoolers and toddlers now. All they want to do is make people’s lives miserable and dysfunctional and get them wound up. Personally, I am not going to shy away from telling anyone and everyone that I want all these folks booted to the curb. Enough is enough.
LikeLiked by 3 people
I am right there with you. Your brother is right too. many of the stores now have armed Police officers around because of all the violence. All of this is 100% POLITICAL, and things are going to get much, much worse before and if they even get better. Scary times ahead. I am afraid this is only the beginning too. 😦
LikeLiked by 2 people
I can’t read what the signs say… The strikers should make it clear WHAT they are on strike about, if they haven’t already. Otherwise, they’re just adding to the chaos.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Even as close as I was, I couldn’t make them out either.
LikeLike
Thank you for sharing. This is something EVERYONE needs to see and be made aware of.
LikeLike
Thank you for sharing this. This is something EVERYONE needs to see and be made aware of.
LikeLike
Oh, man… I see things just getting worse from now on… I thought everything was supposed to be fixed starting last year! It’s very scary to see empty shelves become the norm, places closing, people OK with not working, etc.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I know. It is VERY scary. I don’t know which is worse – the fact that all of this is happening or the fact that so many people are OK with it and are allowing it to happen. 😦
LikeLiked by 1 person
I agree 100%. Our shelves here in North Carolina are the same as yours Jeanne. God help us all. I know it is going to get much worse before it gets better.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sadly, yes it is. The longer this goes on, the uglier things are going to get. Be prepared. We are on the verge of an ugly, bloody Civil War.
LikeLike
Reblogged this on Susan Loves Books and commented:
Sharing this so every one knows that it isn’t just happening in your local stores. Its all over the country!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you.
LikeLike
The ripple effect has begun. It makes the entire grocery industry unreliable. I pray you can keep enough food on hand to feed your family. Keep us posted. 🙏🏻🍃
LikeLiked by 1 person
I agree. There are plenty of things we can do without, and Larry and I do, but FOOD, is NOT one of them. Last night Larry crossed the picket line and got a little flack, but not much. He just walked right in and got what he needed.
LikeLiked by 1 person
What other choice do you have? Just a thought…..where are the picketers getting their food? Three weeks is a really, really long time. 🤔
LikeLiked by 1 person
I heard on the radio yesterday that the two asides are going into mediation and hopefully some negotiations. But ironically, I was going into another store for something completely unrelated and some of the picketers were walking by. I told them what I had just heard, and them seem MAD. It’s like they DON’T want the strike to end and they DON’T want to go back to work, yet they still want to get paid a lot of $$$.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Say Hello to the new “Normal”. They have a choice to go on strike. You have the choice to buy food to eat. 😜
LikeLiked by 1 person
HMMMMMM! The second part doesn’t seem like much of a choice to me.
LikeLiked by 1 person