Grocery store chain Kroger announced that it was shutting down five stores in Southern California after cities approved ordinances requiring retailers to pay a “hero pay.”
Kroger closed two stores in Long Beach on Saturday: a Ralphs and Food 4 Less in Long Beach, California. Kroger, which is the largest supermarket chain in the U.S. with nearly 2,800 stores in 35 states, stated that the city-mandated $4 “hero pay” increase was to blame for the store closings.
“As a result of the City of Long Beach’s decision to pass an ordinance mandating Extra Pay for grocery workers, we have made the difficult decision to permanently close long-struggling store locations in Long Beach,” said a spokesperson for Kroger several weeks ago, the Epoch Times reported. “This misguided action by the Long Beach City Council oversteps the traditional bargaining process and applies to some, but not all, grocery workers in the city.”
In January, the Long Beach City Council and the city’s Democratic Mayor Robert Garcia approved a “hero pay” ordinance that increased wages by $4 per hour. The COVID-19 pandemic-related pay increase included employees of pharmacies and retail stores with 300 or more employees in the southern California city.
The California Grocers Association attempted to stop the pay increase but was denied by a federal judge in February. U.S. District Judge Otis D. Wright II concluded, “CGA utterly fails to address why the ordinance is not an appropriate means for … fairly compensating grocery workers for the hazards they encounter as essential workers.”
Union leaders claimed that Kroger is punishing workers and the communities.
The closures will impact an estimated 200 workers, according to KTTV-TV. Kroger said that employees of the doomed stores were given the chance to transfer to other locations. The grocery store workers union claims that the transfers could mean long and expensive commutes.
Last month, the Los Angeles City Council approved an emergency ordinance to require grocery stores, retailers, and pharmacies with more than 300 employees nationwide, or more than 10 employees on-site, to offer employees an additional $5 per hour in hazard pay during the coronavirus pandemic.
Kroger reacted by planning to close three Los Angeles locations on May 12, citing “hero pay” as the main factor for shuttering the doors.
“The mandate will add an additional $20 million in operating costs over the next 120 days, making it financially unsustainable to continue operating the three underperforming locations,” Kroger said in a statement. “Despite our efforts to overcome the challenges we were already facing at these locations, the extra pay mandate makes it impossible to run a financially sustainable business that ensures our ability to continue serving the Los Angeles community at those three locations with reliable access to affordable, fresh groceries and other essentials.”
“We are proud of our role as a leading employer in Los Angeles and remain committed to our dedicated associates on the frontlines serving in our 65 other area locations,” the supermarket chain said.
Two Los Angeles City Council members introduced a motion to investigate Kroger for closing the three L.A. stores.
“The city has an interest in considering whether it should take legislative action to address these closures and potentially future closures of other grocery stores especially in areas of the city that are commonly known as Food Deserts,” the motion introduced by Democratic Councilmen Marqueece Harris-Dawson and Paul Koretz said.
Won’t be long in Communist California before all businesses will be a 49-51 venture on top of the gains taxes levied on the owner’s 49% stake.
Left that cesspool years ago due to taxation and socialists.
If a city wants the employees of a private company to receive extra pay, then the city should ask!!!!! When you tell someone they have to do this, I agree with Kroger 110%. Long Beach should apologize to the employees that they just cost several hundred people their jobs with their generosity.
So now California is telling the stores how much they must pay an employee. Next it will be what they can and cannot sell and what hours they must be open. Next it will be who they can and cannot hire, “you will not hire anyone who disagrees with our policies.
Well what about the Hospital workers, bus drivers, cab drivers, police officers, fireman, you get the point. It is no wonder people are leaving Cal. in droves,
problem is, they are taking their californication stupidity with them and ruining other states
You are right. Look what has happened to Colorado, Washington, Oregon, they have a toehold in Boise.
Jim – they have been trying to subvert Idaho for decades. When I was a poor college kid there in the late ’60s it was not uncommon to seed “Don’t Californicate Idaho” bumper stickers. In fact, I started my professional career there for the whopping rate of $3.52 per hour. Where were all of the social justice wage warriors back then?
Lol. Couldn’t help but chuckle. In 1968-69, minimum wage in CA was $1.95 per hour. I guess everything is relative. I hope those employees had not just had to pay Union Dues. That would have added insult to injury. It appears that the government is wanting to take over private industry. Maybe they should have sent some of the COVID bill funds to US businesses, instead of foreign countries. (BTW I’m not against foreign aide, but it should be struggling Americans first.
You are absolutely right. They vote these jerks in, the jerks treat them like crap, they move to another state, they vote these jerks in, these jerks treat them like crap, etc., etc., etc.
This is the first I’ve heard of “hero pay”. A grocery clerk is just doing their job. Everyone I’ve seen is required to wear a mask. The only hero part is putting up with wearing a mask for 8 or so hours. I don’t blame Kroger. Maybe once the citizens of Long Beach realize that the city council they elected has screwed them maybe they will change the city council. I know that the city of Huntington Beach had their city council enact a grocery bag law making things very inconvenient for something that will do absolutely nothing. the next election every one of those city council members were gone and the law was repealed. Of course being in California a few years later the state enacted a similar law. Glad I left there before that happened.
People don’t realize that for every dollar Kroger brings in the profit is only a penny… It is hard to believe but it is true.. Other grocery stores are about the same.. Stores have to move a lot of items to make a profit..
Idiots! And look at the names of the councilmen and the judge and you know all about them. I’m so glad Kroger called their bluff. They think there’s a magic well of money that pays fir all their Democrat wish-list nonsense. And that final threat is a joke, as if a pissant city councilman has the power to “investigate” a company for not paying the wages they want.
You will soon see $6/gal gas in Calif, and some people have to drive 75 + miles to work. Throw these communists out now.
($6 / gal gas) That will seem cheap if the communists are able to convince their proletariat that it’s for their own benefit. But about Kroger: I’m pretty sure I read an MSM bit that said they made $157.63 profit from EVERY $1 dollar sold (Common Core Doctorate-level economic theory).
Yeah, that would be common core math alright.
Kroger is giving extra pay to workers in their stores in the Houston, Texas aea. Nobody told them to do it. They just decided o do it. And they hired more people to take cre of all the drive-up curbside shoppers. No government agency or piss-ant politician told them to do it. They just did it.
Where is the “hero pay” for the civil servants of California State Government? Last year Newsom just unilaterally cut the pay of all state employees by 10% sending their salary base back to what it was 20 years ago. This executive action was taken by Newsom in spite of the legally negotiated labor contracts that were in effect. Moreover, there are no plans to reinstate the salaries of all the state employees effected.
Gate operator at CA state prison gets $120k a year for pushing button for open and close. How much should they be paid?
Did he cut his own pay by 10%? I don’t think so. I would venture to bet not a single government worker has missed a pay check in the last year due to the chinese virus fraud. Whereas most of the general population has been out of work. Politicians don’t give a damn about the people.
It’s time but we need a leader.
i don’t agree with calling that councilman a piss-ant. what do have against piss-ants???
Piss-ants have sixteen levels of intelligence higher than a councilman AND the constituents that elected them. Jealousy obviously is the deciding factor.
The ancient Greek philosopher Plato (or was it Aristotle) once said “those who refuse to be involved in the politics are doomed to be ruled by their inferiors”. Truer words, albeit 2000 years ago, were never spoken. Wake up America.
Damn the torpedoes full speed ahead. It’s socialism I crave. Kroger needs to get in line with the woke people. We the people need $30 no $60 an hour minimum wage to be able to pursue our happiness. And working for that minimum should be voluntary.
Good for Kroger. Hopefully all the other major food markets will do the same. Then see how long the council critters stay in office. They are idiots.
They could be beat and beat quite easily if only the conservatives would get together and boycott every single one of the woke businesses.
I was going to comment on this absurdity by commiefornians, but ALL others have said it so well. Time for the San Andreas to do its job and fix this BS.