Kroger union employees reject company's offer, vote to authorize strike

[Omaha Steve]

Source: WDBJ

ROANOKE, Va. (WDBJ7) Kroger union employees voted Wednesday to authorize a strike and rejected the company's latest offer.

More than 1,100 union workers in the region voted at the Salem Civic Center.

The vote was unanimous to reject Kroger’s most recent contract proposal. All but one person voted to authorize the strike.

If the union employees ultimately vote to go on strike, the union says 41 stores in the region would be impacted.

FULL story at link.



Read more: http://www.wdbj7.com/content/news/Union-employees-with-Kroger-sign-temporary-extension-379943991.html

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Anytime Kroger has a location on strike, we have to stop using the local non-union stores! There are no unionized grocery stores in the area since Albertson's closed in 2004.

Press Release from UFCW Local 400:


SALEM, VA – This morning, Kroger employees voted unanimously to reject the company’s “last best offer” and to authorize a strike at 41 stores in the Roanoke Valley region. The associates are union members with the United Food & Commercial Workers Local 400 and work as cashiers, meat cutters, stockers and clerks at Kroger stores.

“It wasn’t an easy decision, but at the end of the day, we had to do it. Sometimes enough is enough,” said Kevin Johnson, a Kroger associate and union member who voted in favor of the strike authorization.

The vote to authorize a strike took place at a union membership meeting at the Salem Civic Center earlier this morning. Before voting to authorize the strike, the members voted unanimously to reject a proposed collective bargaining agreement Kroger described as its “last best offer” to associates.

The offer would have provided only slight wage increases and no paid sick days for store associates. It also fell short of renewing Kroger’s commitment to providing health insurance for its retirees.

“It was a slap in the face,” explained Todd Dolehanty, one of thirteen Kroger associates who make up the union’s bargaining team in contract negotiations with the company. “Kroger is more successful than ever before. They just gave the CEO a 17% raise. But they told us, the people who make that success possible in the first place, that all they could afford was a quarter.”

Kroger presented the last-minute proposal less than one hour before the current collective bargaining agreement was set to expire at midnight on Sunday, May 8. The bargaining committee voted unanimously to reject the offer before presenting it to the full membership for a vote this morning.

Kroger is the largest traditional grocer in the United States and made a record-breaking $2.4 billion in profits last year alone. Last week, Rodney McMullen, the CEO of Kroger, was rewarded a 17 percent pay raise by the company’s board of directors. His total compensation jumped from $9.2 million to a staggering $11.2 million. Assuming he works an average number of hours per year, which the federal Office of Personnel Management estimates to be 2,087, McMullen now makes $5,366.55 per hour, or $89.44 per minute.

“The company is earning record profits, $2.4 billion. It's time they take care of the associates that are in there every day working hard to make sure that company is successful,” said Dawn Greenway, who works in the deli at a Kroger store in Roanoke and is a member of the union’s bargaining committee.

“The customers come into the stores for the local people employed there, not for the corporation,” explained Mary Little, a department manager who has worked at the store in Boonsboro for nearly a decade.

Despite its skyrocketing success, Kroger has refused to provide its associates with paid sick days and is proposing to force all retired employees off of the company-provided healthcare and onto “Obamacare” exchanges funded by taxpayers.

The strike authorization affects 41 Kroger stores in the region stretching from Kingsport, TN to Harrisonburg, VA. Approximately 3,000 of the affected associates are union members with Local 400 of the United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW).

Kroger Stores Affected:

Kroger #118, Clifton Forge, VA
Kroger #202, Roanoke, VA
Kroger #208, Roanoke, VA
Kroger #209, Roanoke, VA
Kroger #210, Blacksburg, VA
Kroger #215, Radford, VA
Kroger #226, Salem, VA
Kroger #228, Waynesboro, VA
Kroger #239, Charlottesville, VA
Kroger #255, Abingdon, VA
Kroger #261, Johnson City, TN
Kroger #273, Bluewell, WV
Kroger #310, Harrisonburg, VA
Kroger #316, Princeton, WV
Kroger #320, Salem, VA
Kroger #322, Vinton, VA
Kroger #325, Roanoke, VA
Kroger #326, Lynchburg, VA
Kroger #327, Lynchburg, VA
Kroger #328, Kingsport, TN
Kroger #330, Salem, VA
Kroger #334, Charlottesville, VA
Kroger #335, Bristol, VA
Kroger #343, Staunton, VA
Kroger #345, Christiansburg, VA
Kroger #347, Rocky Mountain, VA
Kroger #350, Martinsville, VA
Kroger #359, Charlottesville, VA
Kroger #364, Daleville, VA
Kroger #367, Johnson City, TN
Kroger #375, Roanoke, VA
Kroger #377, Forest, VA
Kroger #391, Roanoke, VA
Kroger #399, Hardy, VA
Kroger #400, Roanoke, VA
Kroger #401, Roanoke, VA
Kroger #402, Blacksburg, VA
Kroger #403, Waynesboro, VA
Kroger #404, Lexington, VA
Kroger #406, Appomatox, VA
Kroger #408, Lynchburg, VA

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The United Food and Commercial Workers Local 400 represents 35,000 members working in the retail food, health care, retail department store, food processing, service and other industries in Maryland, Virginia, Washington, D.C., West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee.

[underpants]

1. I know someone who works at their distribution center there.

This doesn't appear to apply byin though. Well, they've tried to automate them out but you still need real life humans. I do know that at a Food Lion on the NC Outer Banks they had a full crew of Latvians in the summer time. This was back in the 90's. We walked in and I could tell they weren't Americans so we asked one of the guys. They recruited them en masse.

[Mosby]

2. Krogers net profit is 1.86%

that's 1.86 pennies for every dollar that goes through the register.

They have 431,000 full time employees.

A dollar an hour raise would cost them 896.5 million dollars per year in straight payroll, plus about 30% more in taxes, ss etc.


for comparison purposes:

Apple net profit: 22.3%
Facebook net profit: 23.7%
Walmart: 3%
Target: 4.6%

[reddread]

3. hard to believe they could so completely dominate KY the way they do

barely scraping by, and all.
stores everywhere packed with customers.
I would save your sympathy for the situation around here, where merger/buyout madness screwed us fiercely.

[Mosby]

5. My issue is why do unions only target retailers?

There is no money in retail, never has been and never will be especially with internet retailers.

Retailers are just a big, fat target.

[wolfie001]

8. The biggest growth is US jobs in the last 20 years is in the service sector

That's why there's a $15/hr campaign and Occupy Wall Street. Maybe $15 per hour is a pittance to you but it will help raise many US workers out of poverty.

[Omaha Steve]

16. Kroger's Central Division Ratifies Agreement with UFCW Local 700 May 16, 2016 3:33 PM

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/krogers-central-division-ratifies-agreement-193300890.html

INDIANAPOLIS, May 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The Kroger Co. (KR) associates working at Kroger stores in the Indianapolis market area of the company's Central division have ratified a new labor agreement with UFCW Local 700.

"We are pleased to reach an agreement that is good for our associates and also allows us to be competitive and grow in the Indianapolis area," said Katie Wolfram, president of Kroger's Central division. "This agreement comes after thoughtful, respectful and productive work by both company and union representatives. I commend both teams for their professionalism."

"I want to thank our associates for supporting this agreement, as well as for the excellent service they provide every day to our customers and company," Ms. Wolfram said.

The contract covers over 5,800 associates working in 61 stores in the Indianapolis area and other communities, including Bloomington, Columbus, Kokomo, Richmond and New Castle.

Every day, the Kroger Family of Companies makes a difference in the lives of eight and a half million customers and 431,000 associates who shop or serve in 2,778 retail food stores under a variety of local banner names in 35 states and the District of Columbia. Kroger and its subsidiaries operate an expanding ClickList offering – a personalized, order online, pick up at the store service – in addition to our 2,231 pharmacies, 784 convenience stores, 323 fine jewelry stores, 1,387 supermarket fuel centers and 38 food production plants in the United States. Kroger is recognized as one of America's most generous companies for its support of more than 100 Feeding America food bank partners, breast cancer research and awareness, the military and their families, and more than 145,000 community organizations including schools. A leader in supplier diversity, Kroger is a proud member of the Billion Dollar Roundtable.

[westerebus]

6. Local contract affects 3,000 people.

It's not a national contract.

At $1 an hour would be 6,240,000 assuming all the employees worked a 40 hour work week.

That's not the case, as at least half work part time.

Kroger had no problem buying Harris Teeter for $2.4 billion cash.

[wolfie001]

9. He was worried the bananas in his cereal would cost 10 cents more

Great post westerebus!!!!

[westerebus]

10. Facts be facts.

[Mosby]

12. I think wages for all retail workers should be raised

not just union workers.

[westerebus]

14. That's not the position of Kroger Management.

And I agree wages for all hourly employees should go up.

Their working model rewards holding wades down while expanding market share. Wal-Marts play book only goes so far.

[whathehell]

15. Good luck getting it without a union..

[Omaha Steve]

17. Then those workers need to form a union

It is that simple.

[mountain grammy]

11. 17% raise for the CEO

[femmocrat]

4. When Kroger employees went on strike in W. PA, Kroger closed all of their stores (1984).

Kroger used to be my favorite supermarket here.

From Wikipedia:

1980s
Kroger had a number of stores in the Western Pennsylvania region, encompassing Pittsburgh and surrounding areas from 1928 until 1984, when the U.S. began experiencing a severe economic recession. The recession had two significant and related effects on Kroger's operations in the region. First, the highly cyclical manufacturing-based economy of the region declined in greater proportion than the rest of the U.S., which undercut demand for the higher-end products and services offered by Kroger. The second effect of the economic recession was to worsen labor-management relations which led to a protracted labor strike in 1983 and 1984. During the strike, Kroger withdrew all of its stores from the Western Pennsylvania market, including some recently opened "superstores" and "greenhouses," selling these stores to Wetterau (now part of SuperValu), who promptly flipped the stores to independent owners while continuing to supply them under the FoodLand and Shop 'n Save brands.[16] Kroger's exit ceded the market to lower-cost, locally owned rivals, most notably Giant Eagle and the SuperValu-supplied grocers. (Kroger purchased Eagle Grocery company, whose founders went on to create Giant Eagle.)

They sold our local store to some cut-rate outfit that didn't even supply bags. The merchandise on the shelves was in cut-open boxes. They had boxes stacked up in a corner for customers to pack their own groceries. I can't remember the name of it, but it was a dump.

[wolfie001]

7. Best of luck to the workers!!!!

I found this little tidbit on Local 400's Facebook page:

"Shortly after voting to authorize a strike, Kroger reopened negotiations with us. The full bargaining team will resume negotiations on Monday, May 23 and Tuesday, May 24.

The vote to authorize a strike does not mean we are on strike immediately. It sends a clear message to Kroger that we are willing to do whatever it takes to get a fair deal."

Hopefully management and the workers can find common ground. Having a more supportive NLRB can only be a plus for these workers. Elections do matter!!!!

[westerebus]

13. FYI

Kroger stock sat between $20-$24 for ten years give or take a few. Then, post great recession it shot to $70 in four years. Thanks, Obama! lol

The corporate guys made out. Those who held their stock did well also. It's around $37 currently.

[Thespian2]

18. I never like Kroger...

especially the Waynesboro store...They had one store, then bought out the best store, Harris-Teeter,
downhill from there for grocery shopping...we drove over the mountain or up the valley to avoid Kroger...after I left, Waynesboro has attracted several quality grocers...

[erlewyne]

19. My misfortune is I live in the sticks

Kroger is just too far away --- probably 13 miles from home.
I wish Kroger was closer!

I refuse to drive even though I have a license and vehicle.

And enough money to live. Just drink beer!!!

[silvershadow]

20. In solidarity, I will not shop Kroger until this is satisfactorily resolved. nt