FARMINGTON, NEW MEXICO — More than 300 employees of the Safeway grocery stores in Farmington and Aztec are considering a strike after a second round of local labor negotiations with company officials this week showed little progress.

Employees represented by the Albuquerque-based United Food and Commercial Workers Union claim Safeway officials since 2001 have demanded continued cuts to employee pay rates and benefits packages to help reduce costs.

Local workers supported the ongoing requests for concessions, but the latest calls for further cuts at workers' expense goes too far, union President Greg Frazier said.

"They've just been giving and giving, and the company wants more and more," he said.

The Safeway employees' labor contract expires Oct. 31. Union leaders and Safeway corporate officials have met in Farmington twice since September and little consensus was reached.

A third round of labor meetings is scheduled for the last week of October. If an agreement is not reached by Nov. 1, more than 300 workers of the Safeway stores in San Juan County could go on strike.

"We remain optimistic that something productive will come, but it was not evident during the last three days," Frazier said after the most recent contract negotiations in Farmington concluded Wednesday. "A strike is always a last resort. It's an absolute last resort."

California-based Safeway, Inc., operates four grocery stores in New Mexico, including locations in Farmington, Aztec and Gallup.

The company owns 1,735 stores in the U.S. and Canada.

But business amid a weakened economy has struggled as customers are increasingly shopping for the best prices for groceries, causing companies like Safeway to attempt to cut expenses wherever possible, Safeway corporate spokeswoman Kris Staaf said.

Safeway in a quarterly earnings report Thursday said net income during the third quarter was down by more than 35 percent, representing a loss of nearly $80 million.

"In this difficult economy, we are working diligently to lower costs and meet the needs of our customers with high quality products," Safeway CEO Steve Burd said in a prepared statement.

According to the Albuquerque union, Safeway employees in San Juan County are paid at least $1 less per hour than workers doing the same jobs at other Farmington grocery stores. Employees also are expected to work full-time at the company for more than a year before qualifying for personal health care benefits, two years for family benefits and at least 4,160 hours before qualifying for a first 25-cent pay raise, Frazier said.

Prior to employee concessions that began in 2001, workers were paid up to $3 more hourly, and employees qualified for health insurance after three months of full-time work, Frazier said.

The local United Food and Commercial Workers Union also represents employees at Smith's and Albertsons grocery stores.

The Safeway corporate spokeswoman said the labor negotiations are preliminary and ongoing.

"We need to continue dialogue. We need to look for common ground and we need to continue to discuss the points of the contract that are of interest to both parties," Staaf said.

But grocery store workers who choose to strike may lack significant leverage in negotiating new terms to protect unskilled labor in a region where many are looking for work, Farmington Chamber of Commerce President Dorothy Nobis said.