Kroger is closing two grocery stores, Ralphs and Food 4 Less, in Long Beach, California, after the city voted that the supermarket business should pay an extra $ 4.00 an hour in emergency payments during the pandemic.
“Due to the decision of the City of Long Beach to adopt an ordinance requiring extra payment for grocery workers, we have made the difficult decision to permanently close long-term shopping centers in Long Beach,” the company said. said in a statement to the Press Telegram. “This wrongdoing by the Long Beach City Council transcends the traditional bargaining process and applies to some, but not all, grocery workers in the city.”
The ordinance, passed Jan. 19, states that any grocery store with 300 employees nationwide and 15 employees in Long Beach will have to give their employees an extra $ 4 an hour for 120 days due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“Kroger’s decision is unfortunate for workers, buyers and the business,” the city said in a statement.
After the ordinance has been approved, the California Grocers Association has filed a lawsuit against the city, saying it disrupts the collective bargaining process.
” An increase of $ 4 per hour represents about a 28 percent increase in labor costs for groceries. “There is no way that groceries can absorb such a large increase in cost without being reimbursed elsewhere, as groceries operate with thin razor-sharp operations and many stores are already working in the red business,” said Ron Fong, president and CEO. “The Long Beach City Council put politics above families and jobs in the middle of a pandemic. It was completely avoidable.”
Other areas in California also want employers to pay a hazard payment to their employees during the pandemic. Montebello City Council has passed a Long Beach-like ordinance requiring large grocery stores to pay an additional $ 4 per hour for the next 180 days. The Los Angeles City Council will soon look into a similar proposal, reports Press-Telegram.
Ralphs director John Votava told the news agency that other stores could close if these ordinances were approved. “These misguided mandates could jeopardize any struggling store to close,” Votava said.
Nationwide, there are battles to raise the federal minimum wage. President Biden said he supports a federal mandate of $ 15 minimum wage.