Kroger workers in Houston are deciding whether to strike amid an ongoing dispute over hazard pay, according to sources close to the negotiations.
While grocers such as H-E-B have extended pandemic-related pay boosts, the $2-per-hour bump initially given Kroger workers ended May 16. Workers are seeking its reinstatement as the United Food and Commercial Workers Union negotiates a new contract with the national grocer.
Talks grew cold after Kroger presented what it called its “last, best and final offer” to the union on Aug. 19, prompting protests from the union in September outside Houston stores.
On HoustonChronicle.com: Kroger employees rally for return of hazard pay
Instead of restoring the bonus, described by workers as a needed boost during a dangerous time, Kroger said its proposal offered increases ranging between 90 cents to $2.45 an hour over the life of the three-year contract, depending on the position, amounting to $56 million in wage increases and benefits for the company.
“Unfortunately, the union has not given their members an opportunity to vote on those investments,” said Clara Campbell, corporate affairs manager for the company. “Instead, they are asking them to authorize a strike and potentially disrupt their lives.”
Workers represented by UFCW’s Local 455, which covers Louisiana and a large swath of Texas, began voting last week on whether to authorize a strike, according to a source close to the negotiations. The union believes Kroger’s contract does not protect health care benefits and fails to restore hazard pay despite the ongoing dangers faced by frontline workers during the pandemic.
The status of the union’s strike authorization process was unclear Monday morning, but the union issued a statement regarding its reasons for the vote.
“During the beginning of the pandemic, Kroger called Houston grocery workers ‘heroes’ for the work they do,” UFCW Local 455 said in the statement. “This vote is about sending a clear message to Kroger that concessions, cutting wages and eliminating the health care benefits of men and women you call heroes is fundamentally wrong.”
Kroger said it began rolling out pay increases last month for managers, full-time employees and night crew associates. Increases will reach all associates come February, the company said. Houston associates will pay $32 for individual health insurance, or $172 for family coverage, each month in what it describes as a more stable company-administered plan, the company said.
The Kroger Houston Division operates more than 100 stores in southeast Texas and Louisiana and employs more than 18,000 associates.
amanda.drane@chron.com
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