Hundreds of grocery workers in Long Beach, California, may soon be out of jobs after Kroger announced it would permanently close two stores to avoid offering workers compensation during the pandemic.
The municipal health hazard payment decree requires large grocers to pay their employees an extra $ 4 an hour for at least four months, as workers face an increased risk of exposure to the virus.
“It’s a slap in the face when they don’t want to pay us what we deserve, putting our lives on the front line,” said Clara Vega, general manager of one of the stores that are closing, a Food 4 Less supermarket. “We work so hard, work so much overtime, it’s ridiculous. “
Local officials and the International Union of Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), which represents 1.3 million workers, have condemned Kroger’s decision to close stores instead of raising employees’ wages.
“Since the pandemic began, Kroger has made billions in profits because of the sacrifices of grocery workers who put their health and safety at risk every day,” said UFCW International President Marc Perrone in a statement.
“Instead of offering the dangerous pay that these grocery workers have earned and deserve, Kroger has decided to threaten these workers and the community’s access to food in the midst of a public health crisis.”
Profit during the pandemic: The two stores scheduled to close have seen sales increase of up to 31% since the pandemic began, according to Ron Herrera, president of the Los Angeles County Labor Federation.
Herrera said Kroger recently saw a 90% increase in profits and spent $ 1.4 billion on share buybacks. CNN contacted Kroger to comment on its earnings.
Robert Gonzalez, frozen food clerk at Food 4 Less, said he was devastated to learn that his store will close after working for Kroger for 26 years.
“After all the hard work I’ve done to feed families in need and risk my life and my family’s life at home, they don’t want to pay $ 4 more an hour for four months,” said Gonzalez. “We also give donations every week to the homeless and needy families and they want to take that away. This is so wrong and bad.”
More possible closings: Earlier this week, the cities of Los Angeles, West Hollywood, San Jose, Berkeley, San Francisco and Oakland passed similar risk payment laws. Supermarket employees in Seattle who work for a company with more than 500 employees also saw a $ 4 hourly increase in risk pay as of Wednesday. Kroger told CNN that he is also considering additional closings in several US cities.