About 45,000 grocery workers have authorized a strike at Ralphs, Albertsons, Vons and Pavilions stores in Southern California to protest unfair labor practices.

United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7 announced Saturday that, unlike the February strike by King Soopers workers, the Safeway/Albertsons walkout will begin on a more limited scale.

With the clock winding down toward Saturday night's deadline for new contract negotiations, a Colorado union has announced locations where grocery employees are set to walk off the job on Sunday in protest.