Kroger and the union that represents more than 1,300 employees in the Roanoke Valley are close to finalizing a new labor contract that includes changes to health benefits.

The United Food & Commercial Workers Union Local 400, based in Maryland, will hand the agreement to employees for consideration in the next several weeks, said Jim Lowthers, president of the union. Lowthers would not give details about the new contract nor would he comment on it.

"It's their [employees'] proposal, and they should be the first ones to see it," he said, explaining that employees still must vote on the agreement before it becomes final.

Kroger officials would not comment on the new contract.

As of November, Kroger was the seventh largest employer in the Roanoke Valley with 1,610 employees, according to the Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce. Kroger is the only unionized grocery store in the Roanoke Valley, and it has 13 stores valleywide.

In late March, beyond the initial contract-signing date, Kroger faced the possibility of a strike. Employees at 47 stores in Virginia, West Virginia and Tennessee authorized their union leaders to call a strike but they never did.

Kroger officials fear a scenario like one that occurred in 2003 in West Virginia. A 62-day strike forced Kroger to close its stores, though its store pharmacies remained open.

In February, when negotiations for this contract began, Pete Williams, president of Kroger's Mid-Atlantic region based in Roanoke, said, "The company doesn't want a work stoppage."

Kroger and union officials said they expected contention over health benefits to be at the center of the contract's talks. Kroger wanted to make changes to its health plan's design because it believed the plan was outdated, Williams said in February.

Health care costs at Kroger rose 150 percent during the contract's four-year period, he said.

Full-time Kroger employees do not contribute to the health plan, but they pay a $100 deductible. The average hourly wage at Kroger is $9.56.

The labor contract excludes store managers, pharmacists, wine stewards, security officers and clerical employees.

The agreement covers about 3,500 Kroger employees at 47 stores in Western Virginia, southern West Virginia and eastern Tennessee.