Rio Rancho Market Street meat department workers vote to unionize
The Albertsons subsidiary is the third Rio Rancho store to join UFCW Local 1564
Employees in the meat department of a Rio Rancho Albertsons Market Street grocery store voted unanimously to unionize in an election last month.
The grocery store, at 2200 Unser SE, is the third Albertsons-owned location in Rio Rancho to join United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1564, union officials said.
“We were honored that these employees reached out to us for help,” said UFCW Local 1564 President Greg Frazier.
The meat department — which includes meat cutters, deli clerks and butchers — is typically considered separate from the rest of a grocery store for union representation purposes, Frazier said.
“Meat cutting is a skill, and because of that, they’ve always wanted their own contracts,” he said.
Twenty workers voted in the election and none voted against the union, which represents around 1,200 Albertsons employees across New Mexico.
UFCW also recently welcomed new members in southern New Mexico. Last week, bakery workers at an Albertsons in Carlsbad voted 9-1 to join the union, Frazier said.
“We’ve seen a lot of activity with Albertsons because it’s a big difference between the union and the non-union benefits,” he said. “It doesn’t affect prices. Whether you shop at a non-union store or a union store, prices are going to be the same, but benefits and what the employees receive are quite different.”
The local votes to unionize come after workers at Albertsons and Smith’s stores across New Mexico voted to finalize new union contracts in July — narrowly avoiding a potential strike after UFCW alleged the companies had been engaging in unfair labor practices.
Albertsons spokesperson Abie Rampy did not address the collusion allegations in a June 2025 statement to the Journal, but said the company respects “the rights of workers to engage in collective bargaining” and remains “committed to negotiating in good faith.”
Rampy did not respond to a request for comment on the Rio Rancho election.
Natalie Robbins covers education for the Journal. You can reach her at nrobbins@abqjournal.com.
