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.
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?”
Huntington’s City Council chambers were filled Monday night with employees participating in two separate strikes at the Cabell Huntington Hospital and Special Metals. Members of the council considered a resolution that called for both organizations to come to the negotiating table in good faith.
The motion was blocked by Huntington’s legal team on grounds of impartiality.
The resolution in support of the strikers was introduced by Councilman Bob Bailey. He noted the importance to “get behind these people in these picket lines. Christmas is coming. […] They need Christmas presents for their children. So I’m only going to pray that you’ll do the right thing. And back these union people. These are our people.”
A federal mediator has called on the Cabell Huntington Hospital and SEIU to return to the negotiating table on Nov. 30.
Molly Frick, director of human resources for Cabell Huntington Hospital, issued a statement Monday. “We eagerly await confirmation to return to the bargaining table,” Frick said. “We presented our last offer to the SEIU District 1199 on Nov. 9. As of today, not only have we not received a counteroffer, we have not received any response. We recognize a strike is a serious matter that deserves earnest action.
She added: “Work stoppages at hospitals differ from those at industrial facilities. The very health and well-being of human lives are the responsibility of the entire team. We have heard from many union members that they’re ready to return to caring for patients and supporting operations. We encourage the SEIU to either respond to our offer or return to the bargaining table, so that our team members can return to work.”
The organizing director of SEIU District 1199, Sherri McKinney, argued in a statement that the Cabell Huntington Hospital isn’t truly acting in good faith, “when they have made an offer far less than what we have already had for decades and bargained for on Nov. 3.”
“It is our hope that the hospital will do what is just and fair and stop this strike in good faith during this holiday season for the Huntington Community at-large, but after the many false statements to the media and divisive tactics, they need to find another way of conducting business,” McKinney said.
Two union hospital employees came to speak before the council in support of Bailey’s resolution to support the striking workers.
Union worker Trish Burns shared with the city council how her sudden loss of health care has affected her 25-year-old son. “He’s a full-time college student. He has worked full time to pay for his education. Last week he was admitted to the hospital with no insurance because Cabell ripped my insurance away.”
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Huntington City Council Broadcast
Trish Burns speaking at the 11-22-2021 City Council Meeting
Council member Tia Rambaugh called for her colleagues to take a position. “Ultimately, I think that governance and administration should not remain impartial in these situations, because this is our community,” Rambaugh said.
Despite her background in business, she argued that it was unethical to stay quiet on the sidelines. “You guys are our workers. We are your neighbors. And it’s important for us to make our opinions known so that administration in these businesses can potentially recognize that they’re not working in a silo, that we all have to work together, and that our opinions mean something.”
Councilman Patrick Jones was the last to speak on the resolution. With tears in his eyes, Jones argued it is not unreasonable to demand higher compensation to keep pace with inflation. “Their children, many of whom I see in the halls of our schools each day while I’m working, can enjoy this holiday season in the same manner with a feeling of security and peace that the families of officials in management at these institutions will surely enjoy,” Jones said.
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Huntington Councilman Patrick Jones
Council members officially didn’t side with either the workers or the companies. It is the 53rd day since the Special Metals strike began, and it is the 20th day of the Cabell Huntington Hospital strike.
Jones swore that if there is not a deal made in the next two weeks, he will introduce another resolution to the city council.
Labor activist Sarah “Mother” Blizzard died on September 28, 1955, at age 90. She spent her early years on her family’s farm in Fayette County.
She, her husband, and her children were actively involved in the United Mine Workers of America union from its earliest days. After her support for the 1902 coal strike led to the Blizzards’ eviction from their home, they moved to Cabin Creek in Kanawha County. During the violent Paint Creek-Cabin Creek strike of 1912, “Mother” Blizzard allowed striking miners to camp on her land and joined forces with famed labor leader “Mother” Jones, to whom she was often compared.
“Mother” Blizzard and “Mother” Jones once participated in a march where they supposedly struck policemen with their umbrellas. “Mother” Blizzard also organized a group of women to block the Bull Moose Special from launching a second attack on a tent colony of miners. The Bull Moose was a special armored train coal operators used during the strike.
“Mother” Blizzard, as she was affectionately known, was the actual mother of UMWA District 17 President Bill Blizzard and great-grandmother of current UMWA President Cecil Roberts.
Labor activist Sarah “Mother” Blizzard died on September 28, 1955, at age 90. She spent her early years on her family’s farm in Fayette County.
She, her husband, and her children were actively involved in the United Mine Workers of America union from its earliest days. After her support for the 1902 coal strike led to the Blizzards’ eviction from their home, they moved to Cabin Creek in Kanawha County. During the violent Paint Creek-Cabin Creek strike of 1912, “Mother” Blizzard allowed striking miners to camp on her land and joined forces with famed labor leader “Mother” Jones, to whom she was often compared.
“Mother” Blizzard and “Mother” Jones once participated in a march where they supposedly struck policemen with their umbrellas. “Mother” Blizzard also organized a group of women to block the Bull Moose Special from launching a second attack on a tent colony of miners. The Bull Moose was a special armored train coal operators used during the strike.
“Mother” Blizzard, as she was affectionately known, was the actual mother of UMWA District 17 President Bill Blizzard and great-grandmother of current UMWA President Cecil Roberts.
