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15,000 King Soopers and Safeway workers, represented by the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) Local 7, voted yesterday to approve a strike that could begin as early as Oct. 3, if all goes wrong. UFCW members and the grocery store managers have writhed in unsuccessful negotiations for five months. The union is angling for a higher wage cap, as well as changes in the health care system, and says they have conceded by not asking for a guarantee of stable employee pension and benefit costs. Grocery management wishes to raise the minimum retirement age to 55, and says that the union should be happy with such a good contract proposal in these poor economic times. Voting will take place over the next two weeks, and if the proposal fails, the UFCW will have to decide whether to go back to the bargaining table once more, or to call for a statewide work stoppage.