Hundreds of workers in grocery stores in Long Beach, California, may soon be out of work after Kroger announced he would permanently close two stores to avoid paying workers during the pandemic.
According to the nationwide hazardous regulation, large groceries must pay their staff an extra $ 4 per hour for at least four months, as employees are at greater risk for exposure to the virus.
“It’s a slap in the face if they do not want to pay us what we deserve, and put our lives in the foreground,” said Clara Vega, general manager at one of the closing stores, a Food 4 Less supermarket. ‘work so hard, we work so much overtime, it’s ridiculous. ”
Local officials and the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW), which represents 1.3 million workers, condemned Kroger’s move to close stores instead of raising workers’ wages.
“Since the pandemic began, Kroger has earned billions in profits from the sacrifices of grocery workers who put their own health and safety at stake every day,” UFCW International President Marc Perrone said in a statement.
“Instead of paying for the danger that grocery workers deserve and deserve, Kroger decided to threaten these workers and the community’s access to food in the midst of a public health crisis.”
Profit during the pandemic: According to Ron Herrera, president of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, sales prices have risen to 31% since the start of the pandemic.
Herrera said Kroger recently received a 90% increase and repurchased $ 1.4 billion in shares. CNN contacted Kroger for comment on his earnings.
Robert Gonzalez, a frozen food clerk at Food 4 Less, said he was devastated to hear his store was going to close after working at Kroger for 26 years.
“After all the hard work I have done to feed the needy families and risk my life and my family’s lives at home, they do not want to pay $ 4 extra per hour for four small months,” Gonzalez said. “We also give donations to homeless and needy families every week and they want to take it away. It’s so wrong and evil.”
More possible closures: Earlier this week, the cities of Los Angeles, West Hollywood, San Jose, Berkeley, San Francisco and Oakland implemented similar hazardous payment ordinances. Seattle grocery store workers who work for a company with more than 500 employees also began raising $ 4 per hour on Wednesday with hazardous cases. Kroger told CNN he is also considering additional closures in several U.S. cities.