Hundreds of grocery store workers in Long Beach, California could soon be out of work, after Kroger announced it would permanently close two stores to avoid offering workers a dangerous payment during the pandemic.
The citywide risk payment ordinance requires large grocers to pay their staff an additional $ 4 an hour for at least four months because workers face a higher 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 at one of the stores they close, a Food 4 Less supermarket. we work so hard, we work so many overtime, it’s ridiculous. ”
Local officials and the International Union of Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), which represents 1.3 million workers, condemned Kroger’s move to close stores instead of raising employees’ salaries.
“Since the pandemic began, Kroger has made billions in profits from the sacrifices of food workers who put their own health and safety on a daily basis,” UFCW International President Marc Perrone said in a statement.
“Instead of offering the risk that these food 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 for closure have seen sales growth of up to 31 percent since the start of the pandemic, according to Ron Herrera, president of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor.
Herrera said Kroger recently saw a 90 percent increase in profit and spent $ 1.4 billion on share buybacks. CNN contacted Kroger for comment on his earnings.
Robert Gonzalez, a frozen food clerk at Food 4 Less, said he was devastated to learn that his store would close after working for Kroger for 26 years.
“After all the hard work I’ve done to feed the needy families and risk my life and family life at home, they don’t want to pay an extra $ 4 an hour for four small months,” Gonzalez said. “We also make donations every week to homeless and needy families and they want to take that. That’s so wrong and bad.”
Several possible closures: Earlier this week, the cities of Los Angeles, West Hollywood, San Jose, Berkeley, San Francisco and Oakland passed similar risk payment ordinances. Seattle grocery stores, which work for a company with more than 500 employees, also saw a $ 4 hourly pay rise starting Wednesday. Kroger told CNN that he is considering other closures in several US cities.