With the busy holiday shopping season approaching, increased competition and the fact that Kroger still is reeling from strikes elsewhere earlier this year, another strike could have been devastating.

After a 16-hour marathon session Saturday, Kroger and the United Food and Commercial Workers Union that represents 8,500 local workers reached a tentative agreement on a new contract.

Kroger's impact on Northern Kentucky and the Cincinnati area is far-reaching, with 70 stores and thousands of workers who help support the region's economy. The union was prepared to walk and the company was ready to hire non-union workers and reassign managers to run the stores. Fortunately the two sides stepped back from the brink and reached a fair settlement that protects jobs and provides wage increases while keeping Kroger competitive.

Local 1099 had been upset over Kroger's proposed pay package and employee cost-sharing on health insurance. But those issues apparently have been resolved. Under Kroger's earlier proposal, full-time workers for the first time would have had to pay up to $15 a week for family coverage. Deductibles, co-payments for insurance and prescription drug co-payments also would have risen. The company had also sought to limit overtime.

The new agreement includes hourly wage increases and bonuses for workers, increased cost-sharing sharing between employees and the company and overtime provisions.

Earlier this year, a 141-day strike in California, and a brief strike that affected stores in parts of Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia, cost the company an estimated $228 million. Another strike would have been dire for Kroger, facing increased competition from non-unionized Wal-Mart and others.

The settlement is good for the company, workers and the economy of Greater Cincinnati.