Big employers are already shortchanging their 'hero' workers
It’s not unusual for big corporate employers to pretend that the people who make their businesses go aren’t mere “employees.” They’re “associates” (Walmart and many others). Or “cast members” (Disney). Or “partners” (Starbucks). Or “team members” (Best Buy).
Lately, a new label has joined this list: “Heroes.” Kroger, the parent of the Ralphs supermarket chain and others, used the term when announcing a $2-per-hour bump in the pay of its front-line workers, dubbed a “hero bonus” in recognition of the workers’ valor in staying at their posts during the coronavirus pandemic.
Well, that didn’t last long.
So does this mean that you will require companies that receive the bailout money from the taxpayer to keep their workers on the payroll?
Kroger announced earlier this month that it would end the hero bonus on May 17, though it was subsequently shamed into replacing the hourly bump with a one-time “thank you” bonus of $400 for “qualified full-time associates” (there’s that word again) and $200 for part-timers.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/opinion-big-employers-are-already-shortchanging-their-hero-workers/ar-BB14nGcm?li=BBnbfcN
