LONG BEACH (CBSLA) – Kroger, the parent company of Ralphs and Food 4 Less, announced on Monday that it will close two of its stores in Long Beach following the adoption of a law that increased the salaries of food workers by $ 4 per hour.
Kroger reported that on April 17, it will close the Ralphs store at 3380 N. Los Coyotes Diagonal and the Food 4 Less store at 2185 E. South St.
“Following the City of Long Beach’s decision to pass an ordinance requiring overpayment for food workers, we have made the difficult decision to permanently close stores in Long Beach stores,” the company said in a statement. of press. “This wrong action by the Long Beach Local Council goes beyond the traditional negotiation process and applies to some, but not all, of the city’s food workers.”
Last month, Long Beach City Council passed an ordinance requiring grocers with at least 300 employees nationwide to offer their employees an additional $ 4 per hour in case of risk for at least the next 120 days due to the risks of to work during the coronavirus pandemic. .
Currently, councilors in Los Angeles are considering a similar motion to offer grocery store workers an additional $ 5 per hour.
Last March and April, as the pandemic unfolded, several grocery stores and retailers – including Kroger, Walmart, Target and Albertsons – offered their employees unique bonuses or temporary salary increases of $ 2 per hour.
Kroger said Monday he had spent $ 1.3 billion since the beginning of the pandemic to “reward both associates and implement dozens of security measures.”