Food company Kroger announced Monday that it will close two of its Long Beach stores – a Ralph location and a Food4Less store – in response to a city ordinance requiring a $ 4 “hero” salary increase for some workers.
“Following the decision of the city of Long Beach to adopt an ordinance requiring additional payment for grocery workers, we have made the difficult decision to permanently close the outlets of stores in Long Beach,” according to a company statement. the wrong action of the Long Beach Local Council goes beyond the traditional negotiation process and applies to some, but not all, of the city’s food workers.
“The irreparable damage that will come to employees and local citizens as a direct result of Long Beach’s attempt to choose winners and losers is deeply unfortunate. We are really saddened that our associates and customers will eventually be the real victims of city council action. “
Mayor Robert Garcia was a major supporter of the ordinance. Before signing the measure, he wrote on Twitter that food workers “have been on the front lines of this pandemic and deserve this support.”
According to Kroger, the Ralphs store at 3380 N. Los Coyotes Diagonal and the Food4Less store at 2185 E. South St. will close on April 17.
Long Beach City Council last month gave initial approval to a law requiring large grocers to pay their workers an additional $ 4 an hour in “paid hero” for their work during the COVID-19 pandemic. The law applies to companies with 300 or more employees in general and more than 15 employees per location in Long Beach.
The actor, known for his role as “Screech” in “Saved by the Bell”, was diagnosed with cancer three weeks ago.
The California Grocers Association is among those who oppose the ordinance, saying it will do nothing to increase worker safety, but could actually lead to higher costs for consumers.
According to Kroger, the company spent $ 1.3 billion “both to reward associates and to implement dozens of security measures” during the pandemic.