Food Service Workers Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Kroger Union Protests Outside Charleston Location

Kroger union workers protested Wednesday in opposition of a proposed merger that would make the grocery chain one of the largest in the country.

Kroger union workers protested Wednesday in opposition to a proposed merger that would make the grocery chain one of the largest in the country.

Members of the United Food & Commercial Workers Local 400 Union gathered outside of a West Charleston Kroger to protest the grocery chain’s merger with Albertsons Companies. A similar action took place in Clarksburg on Tuesday.

Steve Arthur made the trip from Beaver, where he is the head grocery clerk. Arthur said the merger would be bad for consumers and workers, stifling competition in the grocery industry.

“If you look around the Washington, D.C. area, or out into California, they are in close competition to each other,” Arthur said. “Therefore, if Kroger would close down one location, its going to put people out of work. Our wages go down, and we’re very concerned about that. It’s for the livelihood of the working American.”

Arthur, who said he has been working at Kroger for close to 50 years, said what’s most upsetting is the merger’s $24 billion price tag.

“That is a cash payment. That’s cash money, but yet they’re having a hard time paying us for vacations,” he said. “They’re having a hard time paying us for our hourly rate increases. That’s not right. And here they’re wanting to take over another company.”

The merger is currently being reviewed by the Federal Trade Commission.

Judy Turner, who works at the Kroger in Madison, said the union is asking shoppers to add their voices to the opposition.

“If those folks will just voice their opinions and get on the website and say, ‘Hey, let’s stop this merger because we don’t want higher prices, we don’t want job loss.’ And that’s the message we want to get across today.” she said.

Local Kroger Workers Oppose Company’s Merger

Kroger union members plan events at stores in Clarksburg Tuesday, April 4 and Charleston Wednesday, April 5 to protest the company’s plans to merge with Albertsons Companies.

Unions at two locations of the Kroger grocery store chain are planning protests this week.

Kroger union members plan events at stores in Clarksburg Tuesday, April 4 and Charleston Wednesday, April 5 to protest the company’s intention to merge with Albertsons Companies.

Albertsons owns several grocery brands and chains, including Safeway and Jewel Osco. A pair of protests at Safeway stores in Virginia and Washington, D.C. is also planned for Wednesday.

The October 14, 2022 announcement of the merger stated the two companies operate a total of 4,996 stores and employ 710,000 workers across 48 states and the District of Columbia. Kroger has stated their plan to invest $500 million to lower prices, as well as $1 billion to raise benefits and wages for workers.

The merger is currently being reviewed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and consumer groups such as the American Antitrust Institute have raised concerns that the merger would significantly increase concentration in already highly concentrated food markets.

Jonathan Williams is the communications director for the United Food & Commercial Workers Local 400 Union, which represents 13,000 Kroger workers in Virginia, West Virginia, and parts of Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee.

He said a merger between two of the country’s largest grocers will put pressure on workers, customers and suppliers.

“Just as less competition leads to higher prices for consumers, less competition for workers leads to lower wages, worse benefits, overall a worse situation for people who work in the industry,” Williams said.

Williams said this week’s worker actions are meant to raise awareness and help add voices to a growing coalition of more than 100 organizations opposed to the grocers’ merger.

“Now is the time for them to hear from customers in America and workers in this industry about their concerns about this deal,” he said.

In an email to West Virginia Public Broadcasting, a Kroger spokesperson stated that the company will not lay off any frontline workers or close any stores, distribution centers or manufacturing facilities as a result of the merger.

“Kroger is one of America’s largest unionized workforces, and this merger secures the long-term future of union jobs while creating a more competitive alternative to large, non-union retailers,” the statement reads. “Beginning day one, we will invest an additional $1 billion to raise wages and benefits, continuing our longstanding track record of associate investments. We pursued this merger to grow jobs, lower prices and provide more choices to consumers across the U.S.”

Williams is wary of the organization’s claims.

“There is no chance that less competition will lead to better outcomes for consumers, that breaks every law of economics,” he said. “Just recently, (Kroger) announced that they would be selling off 250 to 300 stores. Are those workers going to continue working at Kroger when those stores are gone? Are they going to continue working at Albertsons when those stores are gone?”

Anxiety In Appalachian Coal Country: First The Mines Closed, Then Came Coronavirus

As the economic fallout from the coronavirus continues to reshape our lives, small-town business owners are worried about the future. Whitesburg, Kentucky — a town already struggling from the decline in the coal industry — is grappling with a new and serious challenge as the effort to contain the disease brings deep economic pain.

The Appalachian Regional Commission still considers Letcher County, where Whitesburg is located, and many of the surrounding counties, “distressed” because of high unemployment, high poverty rates, and low per-capita income. Much of that distress came from a decline in coal jobs: There were fewer than 100 coal miners in Letcher County in 2017, down from 13,000 in 2009.

Despite the challenges, Whitesburg is a fabulous town. I know because I live there. It’s got lots of public art. There’s a great walking trail right along the river, a community kitchen, more live music than you could shake a stick at. And it’s full of people who are passionate about building a diverse and sustainable community, who have worked diligently for years to create a thriving downtown.

All of that is to say, Whitesburg is fragile. And the economic fallout from the coronavirus is likely to destabilize this place, and places like it, harder and faster than it might in larger cities.

In order to limit community spread of coronavirus, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear banned dine-in service at all Kentucky restaurants, effective 5 p.m. on Monday, March 16.

To see how the ban is going to impact local restaurants, I walked down the street to Heritage Kitchen, my go-to spot for lunch.

It was eerily quiet. Chairs were up on tables. Server Amber Bailey fixed herself a cup of coffee and we sat six feet apart to talk about what this meant for her.

“I’m one of the lucky ones,” Bailey said. “My boyfriend has a full-time job. But I have a lot of friends who work in the restaurant industry, you know, waitresses and bartenders, and they don’t have anybody else. So I’m more worried for them than I am for myself.”

Brad Shepherd owns Heritage. “Our primary business has always been the dine-in,” he said. “We’ve always done some take-out and delivery, but that’s all supplemental to the dine-in.”

Shepherd plans to stay open for take-out and delivery for one month and re-evaluate, but he’s worried if the crisis goes on longer than that, he’ll have to shut down. Even by the end of that month, he says, he’ll be dipping into his own savings to keep the restaurant afloat. Just like Amber Bailey, Shepherd isn’t just worried for himself.

“It really does take all of us to create a sense of a vibrant business atmosphere,” he said. “So losing any one of us permanently would be a devastating blow.”

Ripple Effects

“I don’t foresee every business making it through this,” said Alison Davis, Executive Director of the Community and Economic Development Initiative of Kentucky at the University of Kentucky. Her organization has helped rural coal-reliant communities transition away from fossil fuels, and prepare for crises like natural disasters. “When we’ve tried to prepare communities to be resilient after disasters, this is not the kind of disaster we’ve tried to prepare communities for,” Davis said.

Uncertainty remains regarding how or whether the coronavirus crisis will overwhelm hospitals, and what the economic fallout will be from extended forced closures of many American industries. But most projections look serious. A recent white paper from the MITRE Corp., a not-for-profit company that advises the federal government on national security matters, warned that the rapid rate of new cases in the U.S. could require 90 percent isolation of the public in order to stop the spread of the virus.

Still, Davis says, rural communities have real strengths they can build on right now. “It is the local people right now who are determining their chance of success post this disease,” she said. “I get excited because I know some of these communities, they have really rallied. It is, we have been together, we know each other, we know our strengths, we know our formal and informal leaders. We’re going to figure something out.”

Uncertain Future

Back at Heritage Kitchen, server Amber Bailey is already thinking about how to support her community. “If we end up shutting our doors here, then I can help some of my other friends who may have little ones where their daycares are gone.”

Projections show unemployment in rural Kentucky already skyrocketing, and it’s only going to get worse: According to the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting, the Cabinet for Education and Workforce Development received about 23,600 unemployment claims in just three days, up from about 2,000 in a typical week.

Bailey still has hours. And she still knows exactly how I like my burger when I call to order takeout. But across the street, downtown pub Streetside has laid off its servers indefinitely.

Food Service Fallout: Coronavirus Closures Hit Ohio Valley Workers

Ray’s Harvest House in Albany, Ohio, had to lay off 11 people following Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s order that all bars and restaurants close dine-in services. Denise Hager was a cook at the restaurant and said she’ll miss seeing and talking to all of her regular customers.

“I don’t like it, but then again I don’t have any control,” Hager said.

Hager said she isn’t sure what she’ll do about the financial hit she’ll take from not working.

Restaurant owners and food service workers in the Ohio Valley are worried about their livelihoods now that Governors in Kentucky, Ohio, and Indiana have ordered all bars and restaurants closed to dine-in customers.

Restaurants will still be allowed to take carry out and delivery orders. The move is the latest attempt to slow the spread of the coronavirus and raises further concerns about the economic impact of the pandemic.

Stacy Roof is the president of the Kentucky Restaurant Association. She said she understands why Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear made his decision, but she’s concerned about businesses across the state.

“I’m disappointed for our businesses because I know they’re fearful and they’re trying to figure out how they’re going to take care of their employees,” she said.

Roof said it’s difficult for people in the hospitality business to stay home because the nature of the job is serving others. She said another concern is all the food that could go to waste because local restaurants won’t be doing as much business as they normally would.

Economists across the region are recommending expanded paid sick leave to keep people home from work when they’re feeling ill, as well as easier access to unemployment benefits. Governors in Kentucky and Ohio have used executive orders to waive the waiting period for unemployment benefits, but that does not address all the concerns.

Michael Shields is with Policy Matters Ohio, an economic policy group. He said the unemployment benefits Ohio offers need to be expanded so that more workers qualify.

Rachel Cotteril, owner of Ray’s Harvest House in Albany, Ohio, takes order on the phone after Gov. Mike DeWine closed dine-in operations across the state.

“In Ohio, the earnings test requires that you earn $269 a week. A minimum-wage worker in the state who works 30 hours a week doesn’t qualify,” he said.

Shields said only about one in five workers in Ohio who are jobless are receiving unemployment compensation.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2018, about 746,250 people worked in food prep or service-related jobs across Kentucky, Ohio and West Virginia.

Tim Sharp from partner station WOUB contributed to this story.

Five Hepatitis A Cases Identified in West Virginia Food workers

Health officials in West Virginia say they’ve identified five more hepatitis A cases in food service workers.

The Kanawha-Charleston Health Department says a McDonald’s on Patrick Street in Charleston, a Pizza Hut on Third Street in Saint Albans, Paul’s Poplar Park Drive Inn in Scott Depot, Sakura on Nitro Place in Cross Lanes and Sam’s Club on Mountaineer Boulevard in South Charleston each had one worker identified.

Environmental Health Services Director Stanley Mills identified no unsafe food handling practices at any of the facilities.

The health department recommends patrons of the facilities monitor for hepatitis A symptoms and seek medical attention if symptoms occur.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says hepatitis A is a communicable disease of the liver caused by a virus. It is usually transmitted person-to-person or by consuming contaminated food or water.