Bargainers for union representing workers at Kroger stores in Ohio reach tentative agreement with grocery chain on a contract.

Bargainers for a union representing workers at 38 Kroger stores in Ohio and two other states reached a tentative agreement with the grocery chain on a contract. The announcement comes a week after members of the United Food & Commercial Workers Union Local 400 rejected a previous contract offer and voted to authorize a strike. A meeting is scheduled for Monday to review the offer ahead of a vote, which will be counted next Thursday, the union says. The previous contract, involving about 3,000 workers at 32 Kroger stores in West Virginia, four in southern Ohio and two in Ashland, Kentucky, expired Feb. 24. The latest offer includes undisclosed pay improvements and has no health-care cost increases that the company previously sought, officials say. A spokesperson for Kroger’s Mid-Atlantic Division said the offer also provides pensions for retirement.