June 8, 2007
DETROIT WORKERS RATIFY FAIR AGREEMENT WITH KROGER
West Coast, Houston, Dallas, and Toledo Workers Tell Company to End Games at Bargaining Table and Settle a Contract that Shares Krogers Success
WASHINGTON, DC– Michigan Kroger workers represented by the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 876 scored a major victory yesterday when they voted to ratify a fair contract with the Kroger Company.
The contract includes immediate wage increases for all members, as well as increases throughout the contracts term. It also includes job security, improved, affordable health care coverage, and improved pension contributions.
The contract is especially meaningful for the approximate 700 current members who did not qualify for full health benefits under the last contract, but will under the new agreement,”” said Local 876 President Roger Robinson.
Kroger is a highly successful company, realizing record profits, increasing market share, and growing revenues.
Detroit is not the only location where UFCW members are in negotiations with the Kroger Company. In fact, tens of thousands of workers in cities across the U.S. are at the table with Kroger, attempting to bargain for a fair contract that will benefit Kroger workers, their company and their communities.
Those UFCW members, working at Kroger stores in Houston, Dallas, Oregon, Southern California, Toledo, and Seattle, are demanding that Kroger step up to the plate like it did in Detroit and share the companys success with the workers who make it possible. To date, though, Kroger has refused to get real at the bargaining table.
The company is up to its old tricks on the West Coast, in Texas, and Ohio, insisting on contracts that would, in effect, force workers and their families to choose between paying the rent and paying for health care. Instead of seeking ways to reward these UFCW members for their hard work, the company is seeking ways to lower living standards.
We all do the same jobs, and we all work hard, said Mike Newman, UFCW Local 911 member and Toledo Kroger worker. We should all be treated equally. Its only fair.
UFCW members are unified in a nationwide movement to improve jobs in the grocery industry for workers, families, and communities. For more on UFCW negotiations across the country, visit the website at www.groceryworkersunited.org.