Kroger closes two grocery stores, Ralphs and Food 4 Less, in Long Beach, California, after the city voted to require the grocery company to pay employees $ 4 extra per hour during the pandemic.
“As a result of the City of Long Beach’s decision to pass an ordinance requiring additional pay for grocery workers, we have made the difficult decision to permanently close long-term stores in Long Beach,” he said. ‘company he said in a statement in the Press-Telegram. “This wrong action by Long Beach City Council goes beyond the traditional bargaining process and applies to some, but not all, of the city’s grocery workers.”
The ordinance passed Jan. 19 stated that any grocery store with 300 employees nationwide and 15 employees in Long Beach would have to give its employees an extra $ 4 an hour for 120 days due to the pandemic. coronavirus.
“Kroger’s decision is unfortunate for workers, buyers and the company,” the city said in a statement.
After the approval of the ordinance, the California Grocers Association filed a lawsuit against the city saying it was interrupting the collective bargaining process.
“An increase of $ 4 per hour represents a 28% increase in labor costs for groceries. There is no way that supermarkets can absorb such a large increase in costs without compensating them anywhere else, given that supermarkets operate on margins until many stores already operate in the red, ”said California Grocers Association President and CEO Ron Fong. “Long Beach City Council put politics ahead of families and jobs in the midst of a pandemic. That was totally avoidable. “
Other areas of California are also looking to get employers to pay their employees during the pandemic. Montebello City Council passed an ordinance similar to Long Beach that required large grocery stores to give an extra $ 4 per hour for the next 180 days. Los Angeles City Council will soon consider a similar proposal, Press-Telegram reported.
Ralphs corporate affairs director John Votava told reporters it is possible that other stores will close if these ordinances are passed. “These wrong warrants could jeopardize the closure of any troubled store,” Votava said.
Across the country, there is a struggle to raise the federal minimum wage. President Biden has said he supports a $ 15 minimum wage with a federal mandate.