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Kroger union members working at 38 stores in West Virginia, Kentucky and Ohio will vote later this week on a new contract and potential work stoppage.
The union’s bargaining committee has unanimously recommended members reject Kroger’s latest offer and vote in favor of authorizing a strike.
The workers are members of United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 400 Union. Voting will take place in select stores Wednesday and Thursday. Results will be announced on Friday.
If the proposed contract is rejected and a strike authorization vote passes, the committee will be empowered to call a strike at a time of its choosing. Workers will not be on strike immediately.
The potential work stoppage could affect approximately 3,000 workers across the three states.
In a separate statement, Kroger said it had presented the union with its final offer. It indicated the investment will be worth about $300 million in wages and benefits.
Kroger said this offer increases some wages up to 26.4 percent over the term of the contract.
“Our associates are the heartbeat of our company, and we are committed to investing in their future,” said Lori Raya, president of Kroger Mid-Atlantic. “This offer invests more than $300 million in incremental wage increases.”
According to the statement, every West Virginia associate under the collective bargaining agreement will receive a substantial pay increase with many associates seeing increases of up to $2 per hour in their base rate.
In related news, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sued to block a proposed merger between Kroger and Albertsons to form the nation’s largest grocery chain, saying the $24.6 billion deal would eliminate competition and lead to higher prices for millions of Americans.
The FTC filed an administrative complaint against the companies Monday, which will be considered by an administrative law judge at the agency. It also filed a lawsuit with the U.S. District Court in Oregon requesting a temporary injunction blocking the merger. That lawsuit was joined by the attorneys general of eight states and the District of Columbia.
Kroger and Albertsons, two of the nation’s largest grocers, agreed to merge in October 2022. The companies said a merger would help them better compete with Walmart, Amazon, Costco and other big rivals. Together, Kroger and Albertsons would control around 13 percent of the U.S. grocery market; Walmart controls 22 percent, according to J.P. Morgan analyst Ken Goldman.
The regional stores included in the potential collective bargaining agreement include:
West Virginia:
Ohio:
Kentucky:
United Food & Commercial Workers Local 400 is led by President Mark Federici and represents 35,000 members working in the grocery, retail, health care, food processing, service and other industries in Maryland, Virginia, Washington, D.C., West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee.
