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BRISTOL — About 3,000 Kroger associates in Virginia might be going on strike soon.

According to a news release from the United Food & Commercial Workers, a contract for Kroger associates from 41 stores from Charlottesville to Kingsport, Tennessee, is at issue. The affected stores include those at the Rio Hill Shopping Center, the Barracks Road Shopping Center and at Emmet Street and Hydraulic Road.

Thousands of Kroger workers in Virginia have been working without a contract since midnight May 8, after the grocery store company presented a last-minute proposal that would have provided only slight wage increases and no paid sick days for associates, the release said. The proposal also did not renew Kroger’s commitment to providing health insurance for its retirees.

Thirteen Kroger employees who make up the union’s bargaining team in contract negotiations with the company voted unanimously to reject the offer, the release stated. The proposal will now be voted on by the entire union membership.

On Wednesday, at a meeting in Salem, union members will vote on whether to accept the company’s last best offer. If the offer is rejected by the membership, a second vote will be taken to decide whether to authorize a strike.