Hazard Pay
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The Long Beach City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to move forward with a plan which will require large grocery stores to pay workers an extra $4 per hour in hazard pay because of the risks associated with the coronavirus pandemic.
The council approved an ordinance that requires grocers with at least 300 employees nationwide to provide their employees with the extra money for at least the next 120 days, according to the Long Beach Press-Telegram.
“When large corporations don’t step up to provide hazard pay for grocery workers, we will step in and protect these heroes,” Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia tweeted. “Thank you to the Long Beach City Council for adopting the emergency $4 hazard pay for grocery workers. I’m going to sign the law as soon as it hits my desk.”
So how did that work out?
Retail chain Kroger has closed two local grocery stores in southern California, claiming that it cannot afford to pay workers an extra $4 an hour 'hero pay' during the coronavirus pandemic.
Ralph's and Food 4 Less in Long Beach had their doors closed and shelves empty on Saturday after Kroger insisted that it was impossible for them to operate what they called 'underperforming stores.'
The city approved a coronavirus 'hero pay' ordinance in January that required retail stores and pharmacies with 300 or more workers overall, or more than 15 employees per location, to pay employees a higher wage due to the hazards of working in the midst of a pandemic.
At Kroger stores, which include Ralph's and Food 4 Less, this meant that eligible employees received an extra $4 an hour for at least 120 days.
"The mandate will add an additional $20 million in operating costs over the next 120 days, making it financially unsustainable to continue operating the three underperforming locations," Kroger said in a statement.
"Despite our efforts to overcome the challenges we were already facing at these locations, the extra pay mandate makes it impossible to run a financially sustainable business …," the statement said.
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Once spent a week in a hunting camp with a guy who owned the largest group of independents in the St.Louis area. As the week wears on, guys talk about their work and hobbies over coffee, sprawled around a campfire. I had no idea how cutthroat the grocery biz was, why stores are laid out the way they are, how manufacturers rebate money for spoiled product, how some route men will pay store managers money under the table for shelf space, or how and why a grocery store has loss leaders.
