Tag: Union

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.

Union Workers Ratify Contract, End Strike At W.Va. Hospital

Union maintenance and service workers at a West Virginia hospital ratified a contract Wednesday to end a month-old strike, the hospital announced.

Members of the Service Employees International Union District 119 ratified the three-year contract covering more than 900 workers at Cabell Huntington Hospital. The hospital said in a statement that employees could likely begin returning to work as soon as Friday.

The statement did not disclose details of the contract, which Dr. Kevin Yingling, the hospital’s president, called “fair and equitable.”

Under an earlier offer, the hospital had asked union members to begin paying health insurance premiums.

“We value all of our employees as each plays an important role in delivering reliable, quality care to our patients,” said hospital Chief Operating Officer Tim Martin. “We are committed to being the best employer in the region with outstanding wages and benefits and this contract confirms that. We look forward to welcoming back our coworkers and resuming normal operations.”

W.Va. Hospital, Striking Union Set To Resume Negotiations

Negotiations are set to resume for striking maintenance and service workers at a West Virginia hospital.

Representatives for Cabell Huntington Hospital and more than 900 members of the the Service Employees International Union District 1999 are scheduled to return to the bargaining table on Tuesday, the hospital said.

Union members went on strike in early November after their contract with the hospital expired.

Hospital human resources director Molly Frick said union members are being asked to begin paying health insurance premiums. Under the hospital’s latest offer, it would have contributed more than 90% of health care costs for employees and their dependents.

The offer also included 3% average annual wage increases, increased shift differentials, an enhanced uniform allowance and continued automatic annual contributions to eligible employees’ retirement accounts.

A temporary restraining order against striking workers will remain in place through Dec. 10. It prohibits certain activities outside the hospital.

Sept. 12, 1861: The Battle of Cheat Mountain is Fought Near the Randolph-Pocahontas County Line

On September 12, 1861, the Battle of Cheat Mountain was fought near the Randolph-Pocahontas County line. Taking place just five months into the Civil War, the battle was a significant loss for the Confederacy.

General Robert E. Lee—at the time commander of the Department of Northwestern Virginia—was trying to protect railroad lines in Western Virginia while keeping what would become northern West Virginia in Confederate hands, thereby thwarting the young statehood movement.

Before the battle, Lee’s subordinate, William Loring, gathered his forces on Valley Mountain. Brigadier General Joseph Reynolds, commander of the U.S. forces, had his headquarters at Elkwater and a strongly fortified post atop Cheat Mountain in Randolph County.

Continual rainfall bogged down the Confederate attack, which was foiled further by the discovery of Southern troops by Union pickets. Lee abandoned his original plan and ordered an advance against Elkwater. The Confederate troops, who were described as being “too wet and too hungry to fight,” were easily repelled.

Colonel John A. Washington, Lee’s aide-de-camp and the last owner of Mount Vernon, was killed while scouting for Lee at Elkwater.

August 15, 1842: Coal Operator and Union Captain Joseph Beury Born

Coal operator Joseph Beury was born in Pennsylvania on August 15, 1842. During the Civil War, he served as a Union captain, though he was later known as “colonel” in the West Virginia coalfields.

Beury worked in his father’s Pennsylvania anthracite mines and brought that knowledge with him to the New River Gorge about 1872. He established the Fayette County town of Quinnimont and opened the New River Coal Company mine. When the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway arrived the following year, he shipped the first load of coal from the New River Coalfield.

Beury left Quinnimont in 1876 to start the Fire Creek mines, also on New River, and later operated mines at Hawks Nest, Ansted, and elsewhere. In 1884, he and others opened Mill Creek Coal & Coke—the first mine in the Flat Top area. By buying up vast acres of land, he soon became one of the leading coal owners in southern West Virginia.

In 1903, Colonel Joe Beury died in his town of Beury in Fayette County at age 60. A stone obelisk at Quinnimont commemorates his role as a coal industry pioneer.

Federal Funding Announced for Water, Wastewater Projects

Two southern West Virginia communities will receive nearly $2 million in federal funding for water and wastewater projects.

U.S. Rep. Evan Jenkins announced funding on Wednesday for the Army Corps of Engineers projects for the communities of Fort Gay and Union. Jenkins said in a statement that Fort Gay would receive $975,000 to upgrade its wastewater treatment plant and Union would receive $975,000 to extend a water line to 111 new customers and build a water storage tank.

Jenkins says investing in water infrastructure is crucial for rural communities in West Virginia.

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