King Soopers Employees Are On Strike!

Irwin

Irwin

Well-known Member
Location
Denver, Colorado, U.S.A.
(Reuters) -More than 8,000 workers at nearly 80 King Soopers stores went on strike for better wages on Wednesday as negotiations stalled, but the stores stayed open as the Kroger Co-owned Colorado chain hired temporary staff and promoted online ordering.

The strike started at 7:00 a.m. ET and would go on for three weeks, the UFCW Local 7 union said. The striking workers are employed at King Soopers stores in the Denver metropolitan area, Boulder, Parker and Broomfield cities of Colorado, among others.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/workers-nearly-80-krogers-king-121601749.html

That just makes these difficult times all that much worse. On one hand, Kroger's is making record profits and paying their top CEO $20 million a year while the workers are just barely getting by. Some of them are homeless because they can't afford a place to live due to outrageous housing costs. On the other hand... I'm not sure what the other hand is.
 

CEO wages are insane. Admittedly, I'm ignorant as to what a CEO job entails or it's level of stress. However, their wages seem high and I'm sure these CEO's have plenty of well paid subordinates to assist.

And as always, the people who keep the customers coming in, and the profits, are thrown to the side.
 
Irwin said:
(Reuters) -More than 8,000 workers at nearly 80 King Soopers stores went on strike for better wages on Wednesday as negotiations stalled, but the stores stayed open as the Kroger Co-owned Colorado chain hired temporary staff and promoted online ordering.

The strike started at 7:00 a.m. ET and would go on for three weeks, the UFCW Local 7 union said. The striking workers are employed at King Soopers stores in the Denver metropolitan area, Boulder, Parker and Broomfield cities of Colorado, among others.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/workers-nearly-80-krogers-king-121601749.html

That just makes these difficult times all that much worse. On one hand, Kroger's is making record profits and paying their top CEO $20 million a year while the workers are just barely getting by. Some of them are homeless because they can't afford a place to live due to outrageous housing costs. On the other hand... I'm not sure what the other hand is.
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I have a friend who lives near Boulder and has said that she's having trouble getting the things she needs when having groceries delivered. I'll have to ask her now how the strike is affecting that further, which I'm sure it must be.

She also mentioned, just yesterday, how extremely high the housing costs in her area are at this time.

And too, they've also just had that terrible fire there. Sheesh CO is taking some hits.

I've heard that walk-outs are happening in pharmacies as well due to understaffing and low pay.
 

Medusa said:
I have a friend who lives near Boulder and has said that she's having trouble getting the things she needs when having groceries delivered. I'll have to ask her now how the strike is affecting that further, which I'm sure it must be.

She also mentioned, just yesterday, how extremely high the housing costs in her area are at this time.

And too, they've also just had that terrible fire there. Sheesh CO is taking some hits.

I've heard that walk-outs are happening in pharmacies as well due to understaffing and low pay.
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Workers should at least get hazard pay for having to be around people during the pandemic. Kroger's could do that as a way to pay more without permanently raising wages, if that's what they're worried about.

That said, Kroger's may get around the worker shortages by installing more self-checkout kiosks and doing away with cashiers altogether. I believe most of the stockers are vendors as apposed to working directly for Kroger's, so they're not affected. They could move more and more to having everything done by contractors.
 
I don't blame them for striking, I hope they don't have to be out too long before some agreements are reached in their favor. Time to shop at Safeway, Costco, Sam's Club, Sprouts, Natural Grocers and the other stores, I won't be crossing any picket lines.
 
SeaBreeze said:
I don't blame them for striking, I hope they don't have to be out too long before some agreements are reached in their favor. Time to shop at Safeway, Costco, Sam's Club, Sprouts, Natural Grocers and the other stores, I won't be crossing any picket lines.
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Yeah, I won't cross their picket lines, either. We have Walmart and Sprouts nearby so I guess we'll survive. I'm used to King Sooper's, though. It takes me forever to find anything at Sprouts or Walmart.
 
Irwin said:
Workers should at least get hazard pay for having to be around people during the pandemic. Kroger's could do that as a way to pay more without permanently raising wages, if that's what they're worried about.

That said, Kroger's may get around the worker shortages by installing more self-checkout kiosks and doing away with cashiers altogether. I believe most of the stockers are vendors as apposed to working directly for Kroger's, so they're not affected. They could move more and more to having everything done by contractors.
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I like the hazard pay idea. I know we're in difficult times, but major companies can't (or shouldn't) expect people to keep showing up, risking their own health for woefully inadequate compension. Why should they?

Honestly, where are we all headed? If this keeps up much longer, are we going to be grabbing our garden hoes and pitch forks, screaming, "To the Bastille?" Okay, that might a stretched analogy, but still...
 
Medusa said:
I like the hazard pay idea. I know we're in difficult times, but major companies can't (or shouldn't) expect people to keep showing up, risking their own health for woefully inadequate compension. Why should they?

Honestly, where are we all headed? If this keeps up much longer, are we going to be grabbing our garden hoes and pitch forks, screaming, "To the Bastille?" Okay, that might a stretched analogy, but still...
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Not sure if in all areas but in my area in the very beginning of pandemic .... workers like this were given a bonus they called hero pay ...... this was by all grocery chains .... it was not long term but for 3 or 6 months ....

the Kroger subsidiary here ..... complained the whole time about paying ............. and AFTER the pay was over there were unknown deductions from pay checks..... some employees claimed they were taking the bonus pay back .....the company claimed they figured it wrong on some checks.
After that went public the deductions stopped but looked awful odd for the company.
 
Jeni said:
Not sure if in all areas but in my area in the very beginning of pandemic .... workers like this were given a bonus they called hero pay ...... this was by all grocery chains .... it was not long term but for 3 or 6 months ....

the Kroger subsidiary here ..... complained the whole time about paying ............. and AFTER the pay was over there were unknown deductions from pay checks..... some employees claimed they were taking the bonus pay back .....the company claimed they figured it wrong on some checks.
After that went public the deductions stopped but looked awful odd for the company.
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We don't have Kroger stores here, but if I ever run across one, I'm going to keep running. They shouldn't be allowed to treat people like that and the only thing to do about it is withdraw our money from their coffers. Fat-Cat Butt Rags.

I need a nap.
 
Medusa said:
We don't have Kroger stores here, but if I ever run across one, I'm going to keep running. They shouldn't be allowed to treat people like that and the only thing to do about it is withdraw our money from their coffers. Fat-Cat Butt Rags.

I need a nap.
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they own and operate under many different names some folks may not even make the connection.
The Kroger Co. Family of Stores includes:

  • Baker’s
  • City Market
  • Dillons
  • Food 4 Less
  • Foods Co
  • Fred Meyer
  • Fry’s
  • Gerbes
  • Jay C Food Store
  • King Soopers
  • Kroger
  • Mariano’s
  • Metro Market
  • Pay-Less Super Markets
  • Pick’n Save
  • QFC
  • Ralphs
  • Ruler
  • Smith’s Food and Drug
 
Jeni said:
they own and operate under many different names some folks may not even make the connection.
The Kroger Co. Family of Stores includes:

  • Baker’s
  • City Market
  • Dillons
  • Food 4 Less
  • Foods Co
  • Fred Meyer
  • Fry’s
  • Gerbes
  • Jay C Food Store
  • King Soopers
  • Kroger
  • Mariano’s
  • Metro Market
  • Pay-Less Super Markets
  • Pick’n Save
  • QFC
  • Ralphs
  • Ruler
  • Smith’s Food and Drug
Click to expand...
We don't have any of those here, but "Ralph's" surprised me; I remember that store from my days growing up in Los Angeles.
 
Isolated from the post

Quote
"On one hand, Kroger's is making record profits and paying their top CEO $20 million a year."


Kroger stock as of Jan 13, 3:05 PM EST
Market Summary
>
Kroger Co
1.69%
Annual dividend yield

0.21
USD
Quarterly dividend amount

49.63 USD
+2.49 (5.28%)today
Jan 13, 3:05 PM EST

A position that calls for making investors happy isn't easy. In our capitalist system the decision by a long list of those evaluating how much a CEO is worth in terms of salary depends on results. Looking at just today the results look pretty good.

This is a list of the decision makers.

Senior Management
Mary Ellen Adcock
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT
Stuart W. Aitken
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT
Gabriel Arreaga
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, SUPPLY CHAIN
Yael Cosset
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT AND CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER
Calvin J. Kaufman
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT
Timothy A. Massa
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, HUMAN RESOURCES & LABOR RELATIONS
W. Rodney McMullen
CHAIRMAN AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Gary Millerchip
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT AND CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
Mark C. Tuffin
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT
Christine S. Wheatley
GROUP VICE PRESIDENT, SECRETARY, AND GENERAL COUNSEL
Board of Directors
Nora A. Aufreiter
DIRECTOR SINCE 2014
Kevin M. Brown
DIRECTOR SINCE 2021
Elaine L. Chao
DIRECTOR SINCE 2021
Anne Gates
DIRECTOR SINCE 2015
Karen M. Hoguet
DIRECTOR SINCE 2019
W. Rodney McMullen
CHAIRMAN AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Clyde R. Moore
DIRECTOR SINCE 1997
Ronald L. Sargent
DIRECTOR SINCE 2006
J. Amanda Sourry Knox
DIRECTOR SINCE 2021
Mark S. Sutton
DIRECTOR SINCE 2017
Ashok Vemuri
DIRECTOR SINCE 2019
https://ir.kroger.com/CorporateProfile/governance/management-directors/default.aspx

I guess if capitalism doesn't seem right as a system then the alternative is socialism. I've enjoyed life really good under the capitalist system & wouldn't want to live in a country like Venezuela.
 
Son-in-law just passed his 30 year anniversary with Dillion's... a Kroger division store. He began carrying out groceries at the local Dillion's while in high school. Kept working part time through college. Has been with them since. He was offered a track to management some years ago. Turned it down. Is scanning manager at the local store.

They have been running short handed for some time. He will step in and cashier when needed. Spends time from doing his job stocking in the back room, stocking shelves, and working the customer service counter. Over the past three years, Kroger has been making huge profits. Over these three years, working through the COVID problem, he has never asked for or gotten a raise in pay. This past week, he got a raise. 20 cents/hour!!!!! Our daughter said he took it like a slap in the face. CEO making millions and they give a 30 year employee a 20 cent raise in 3 years.

We continue to see the pathetic and cruel treatment of employees while top level executives become multi- millionaires. Frito Lay just had a strike at a plant 40 miles from us. Forced overtime. 12 hours shifts with two 15 minute breaks. Ridiculously low wages. They did get some relief, but not much before going back to work.

Every day I hear someone say, "Where are the workers? Why are there so many job openings?" Usually, the easy reply is that people are either too lazy to work or drawing unemployment compensation instead of working. How can we expect people to become "indentured slaves" working long hours for low pay and no hopes of rising out of it. I hope the Kroger's employees on strike in Colorado prevail. Even if they do, it still won't be enough for the work they do.
 
@Patch

Quote
"He was offered a track to management some years ago. Turned it down. Is scanning manager at the local store."

A choice that limited him to earning the kind of money management makes. Only your S I L knows if he had the ability to rise to the level of upper management. Or was content to stay where he was.

I've been out of the work force for 26 years now. When I applied for a job I knew what the job entailed. Only once when I could have worked for Esso in their labs at a great salary I withdrew my application when the interviewer explained that rotating shift work was required. Other than that during the time I was working I chose to quit & move on to higher paying jobs. We were not afraid to move to where higher paying jobs were available. I've never considered myself to be a slave because I understood the key to not being a slave is having a saleable skill & being flexible enough to move where that skill is needed.

Some people complain about the company, the management or both. Yet they don't quit and start a company of their own to undo the very things they complain about.
 
I heard the srtike was over for now, they reached a tentative agreement, good for the workers. I waved and beeped to them when passing, both times headed to Safeway. The cashier at Safeway said their business increased around 50% due to the strike, both stores I went to were really busy, no carts in stores, etc. Glad it's over.
 
Probably I pretty dense, but it seems whenever there's a company strike, the company is making money hand over fist, and the profits lost from the strike is way more than the cost of employee pay raises. In the 1880s, Andrew Carnegie fought a bitter, deadly battle over a strike about literally pennies in wages, then turned around and gave millions away????
 
Unions used to be pretty common....years ago, and seemed to be able to offer workers a means of getting better wages, and living a more decent lifestyle. They seem to have faded in the past couple of decades, putting more workers at the mercy of the corporations. I tend to support the workers being able to get together...in a union...and negotiating a more equitable dispersal of these huge corporate profits. The "disparity of wealth" is just growing too wide, IMO, and there is no need for the upper 1% to be making millions/yr., while those who are supplying the labor are barely getting by.
 

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