The Kroger Co. announced that associates working at Fry's Food Stores of Arizona, Inc. and Smith's Food & Drug Centers, Inc. have ratified a new labor agreement with UFCW Local 99. The contract covers more than 15,000 Fry's associates working in 121 stores in Phoenix, Tucson, and throughout the state of Arizona. It also covers 427 Smith's associates working in Kingman, Bullhead City, Ft. Mohave and Lake Havasu.

Union workers for Safeway, Fry's Food Stores and Smith's Food and Drug here have reached a tentative agreement on a new contract with their employers. Local 99 announced to its members would meet next week to vote on the tentative agreement, which was reached more than a month before the October 27 expiration of its current contract.

Smith's Food & Drug Centers, Inc. announced that Colleen Juergensen has been named vice president of operations for the company and Zane Day has accepted the position of vice president of Merchandising. Day will oversee all product sales and merchandising direction and Juergensen will be over all operations for the company's 133 stores throughout the Intermountain West. Day, who most recently served as vice president of operations, has held several other key positions managing merchandising and operations as well as procurement director for the company's Tolleson Distribution Center in Arizona. Juergensen was active in the Hutchinson, Kan. community and served on the board of directors for Susan G Komen Race for the Cure.