Grocery Store QFC announced on Tuesday, February 16 that it will close two Seattle stores this spring: one in Wedgewood and one on Capitol Hill (15th Avenue East). A declaration of the grocer says the decision was “accelerated” by the recent bill for risk payment adopted by the city council, although QFC also noted that the two stores were ‘underperforming’. The locations will remain open for the next 60 days until April 24.
“Considering the increased cost of operations during COVID-19, coupled with steady financial losses in these two locations, and this new additional payment mandate, it becomes impossible to run a financially sustainable business,” the statement said. the company, in part.
Tiffany Sanders, corporate affairs manager, tells Eater Seattle about what will happen to the employees at those locations, ‘We are working with our staff on the details at these two locations and will do our best to relocate whenever possible. We will fulfill all contractual obligations. ”
Seattle’s mandate for hazards is an increase of $ 4 per hour that applies to those covered by the minimum wage law and who work in supermarkets with more than 500 employees worldwide and in stores larger than 10,000 square feet. Businesses affected by the rule include stores with a wider presence outside Seattle. QFC’s parent company is the grocery giant Kroger, which announced the upcoming closure of two of its stores in Long Beach, California, after a similar bill for risk payment was implemented in the city.
The new announcement also follows on the heels of a controversial back-and-forth between PCC Community Markets and local union UFCW 21, which represents Washington retailers. Not long after the Seattle board passed its new law on January 25, PCC CEO Suzy Monford issued a letter claiming that the bill would unfairly harm the cooperative’s business because it did not have the means or profit margins of larger chains do not.
Moford’s letter was received with backlash from PCC workers and customers, and PCC finally agreed to give the $ 4 hourly wage increase not only to Seattle workers, but also to all of its nearly 1,500 union representatives in 15 locations. in the Puget Sound region. It was not alone. Merchant Joe’s also recently decided to extend all of its workers in the U.S. a hazardous payment, although the grocery chain is now canceling the increase in the middle of the year.
Meanwhile, two industry groups – the Northwest Grocery Association and the Washington Food Industry Association – have also recently filed a lawsuit against Seattle, claiming that the mandate for hazardous payments was unconstitutionally placed in collective bargaining agreements and that employees at larger chains benefited from employees at larger chains. help all grocery workers.
The fate of the lawsuit remains unclear, but local lawmakers do not seem to be deterred from considering policies in the same vein. On Friday, February 12, King County councilors introduced another piece of legislation that would essentially extend the temporary increase to eligible grocery workers in a much wider area: all of King County, who were not with the government.
As for the QFC decision, UFCW 21 did not express words in its brilliant statement: “Kroger’s announcement to close these two QFCs in Seattle today is a case of greed and bullying, and it shows how Kroger feels out of place. is is with our community. The public overwhelmingly supports payouts and supports our workers in grocery stores. ”