Posts tagged Kroger
Oakland County Employee Slams Union with Federal Charges Over Illegal Seizure of Dues
May 4, 2023 // On April 26, Kroger employee Roger Cornett charged UFCW union officials with illegally seizing union dues from his paycheck. According to his charge, Cornett was presented with a “union membership application” form to complete during an employee orientation. The form indicated that signing it would authorize both union membership and dues deductions. Cornett’s charge says the form violates federal labor law because of its “dual purpose” nature, as the law requires any authorization for union dues deductions to be voluntary and separate from a union membership application. Cornett attempted to resign his union membership and revoke his dues deduction authorization around March 8. He successfully resigned his membership, but the union refused to stop deducting dues from Cornett’s paycheck, alleging that Cornett could only exercise his right to stop dues deductions within a tiny “window period” enforced by union officials.
Workers protest ‘grocery monopoly’ merger of Kroger and Albertsons
April 7, 2023 // Dozens of local grocery workers gathered at the Lakewood Ralphs store Thursday to protest the proposed merger between Kroger and Albertsons Companies, which they say will result in store closures, layoffs and higher prices for customers. UFCW locals represent more than 100,000 Kroger and Albertsons employees in 11 states and D.C. The merger could put upward of 5,750 unionized employees out of work, leaders estimate. Over 100 organizations have created a coalition to “Stop the Merger,” which is calling on the Federal Trade Commission to block the joining of the two grocery giants. “It is critical that we remain strong and united to protect workers, customers, food suppliers and communities from the disastrous effect of this merger,” Local 324 President Andrea Zinder said during the event, adding that closures would increase food deserts locally and across Southern California. “Customers who already pinch pennies to afford groceries for their families will see even higher prices. We can’t let that happen.”
Houston-Area Kroger Employee Slams UFCW Union with Federal Charges for Seizing Union Dues Using Altered Union Card
February 22, 2023 // On August 22, 2022, Haefner attended a mandatory orientation meeting during which she was required to listen to a UFCW agent, her charges state. The UFCW agent passed out a union membership application and a dues checkoff on a single form that he claimed was mandatory for attendees to complete. Another piece of onboarding literature stated that Kroger management had the “opinion that you should participate and be active in the Union.” When Haefner asked about how she could exercise her right to refrain from joining the union or paying union dues, the union agent instructed Haefner to write “$0” in the field marked “union dues” on the form. Texas’ Right to Work law protects Haefner’s right to abstain from union membership and dues payment. Haefner followed these instructions, but later found out that union dues were coming out of her wages, her charges say. Haefner quickly obtained a copy of the form that Kroger and UFCW officials based their dues deductions on, and discovered that the “$0” she had written in the union dues field had been replaced with an amount of several dollars to induce dues deductions from her paycheck.
Kroger employees’ union expected to vote on modified contract Friday
September 30, 2022 // UFCW Local 1059 announced via email Wednesday that the documents will be finalized and presented for a vote for its 12,500 members on Friday night.
Report: Kroger eyes possibility of Ohio employee strike
September 19, 2022 // "It's business as usual at Kroger. A strike authorization doesn't mean a strike. Associates should continue to report to work as scheduled." WBNS also quoted the Kroger statement as saying: "The fully recommended agreement on our last best and final offer showed our commitment to the whole person, providing wage increases, high-quality, affordable health care, and a pension benefit for retirement.
Target employees at Virginia store file for union election amid a broader labor push at big companies
May 12, 2022 // Target said in a statement Wednesday that it has been investing in its workforce, with a starting wage range of between $15 to $24 per hour, health care benefits and a program that covers the cost of some associate and undergraduate degrees.
Louisiana: Kroger union workers vote to authorize strike
April 4, 2022 // Local Kroger union workers have voted to authorize a strike, union officials said. The vote does not mean a strike is certain, but that it could happen should both sides not reach an agreement, said Shirley Rome, secretary treasurer of Union Local 455. She said the union rejected Kroger’s most recent proposal and authorized the strike Wednesday.
TikToker Makes Script to Spam Ralphs Scab Site with 23,500 Fake Applications
March 31, 2022 // In a TikTok video laying out his plan, Black shows viewers how to use a tool available through his bio to automatically submit a fake application to the Ralphs site.
47,000 California grocery workers authorize possible strike
March 28, 2022 // Thousands of central and Southern California grocery workers have voted to authorize their union to call a strike against several major supermarket chains as contract negotiations are set to resume this week.
Is a SoCal Grocery Strike in the Works?
March 15, 2022 // A labor dispute is brewing in Southern California. Following the expiration of its last contract with grocery banners including Kroger-owned Ralphs and Albertsons-owned Vons, Pavilions and Albertsons, the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) in the region authorized a strike vote.