Negotiations between Food 4 Less and the union representing the company's roughly 6,000 employees are set to resume on Monday, three days after workers overwhelmingly voted to authorize a strike.
“Today's overwhelming strike authorization vote sends a clear message to the company: 'We will not be divided,'” the union's negotiating committee said in a statement Friday.
“It's us and our fellow union members who stand in our stores every day making record profits and keeping customers happy, but Food 4 Less is trying to intimidate, threaten and coerce us into accepting a contract that is less than we deserve and far less than what our parent company, Kroger, is offering other union grocery workers in our area,” the statement continued.
“We know our customers and communities are on our side. If Food 4 Less/Foods continues to play with our livelihoods and stall at the negotiating table, we will have no choice but to take action. We look forward to continuing negotiations this Monday and continuing to come together for the deal we deserve.”
Salvador Ramirez, a spokesman for The Kroger Co., Food 4 Less's parent company, said in a statement: “We are disappointed with this outcome and look forward to the union returning to the negotiating table on Monday. From the beginning, our focus has been on increasing pay for our employees.”
“We presented a historic proposal that includes more than $70 million in wage investments, industry-leading health care and retirement benefits,” Ramirez continued. “Our employees are the heart of our company, and we will continue to do everything we can to balance wage investments with the overall well-being of our employees while providing affordable food for our guests.”
Our stores will remain open to serve our local communities.”
Last Monday, the company announced it had submitted a proposal to the union to raise pay for full-time cashiers with four years of experience to $25.80 an hour by 2026, with annual salaries of at least $50,000. Under the proposal, employee health insurance premiums would not increase over the life of the three-year contract.
“At Food 4 Less/Foods, our hard-working, dedicated employees are the heart of our company, and our goal is to continue to provide market-competitive wages and benefits that we know are so important to our employees and their families,” Food 4 Less/Foods President Brian Kaltenbach said in a statement.
“We will continue to do all we can to balance investing in wages and overall well-being while keeping food affordable for our customers.”
Demands by United Food and Commercial Workers Locals 8GS, 135, 324, 770, 1167, 1428 and 1442 include higher wages and improved safety measures. Their contracts expired on June 8.
The number of strike votes was not made public.
A strike authorization vote does not necessarily mean that a strike will take place.
On May 22, the union local filed an unfair labor practice complaint against Food 4 Less/Foods, alleging that the company violated workers' rights to negotiate and represent themselves. Union officials said the company illegally surveilled workers, barred them from participating in union activities, prevented them from discussing with union representatives, and unilaterally changed their contracts.
