May, 2020

We’re fighting for the job protections and resources you need. UFCW Presidents in Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, and Kentucky sent a letter to Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen, denouncing the company’s decision to stop Hero Pay and issue Thank You bonuses. Some may say we are returning to normal, but we know that’s simply not true. You’ve been on the frontlines throughout this crisis. You’re the ones making sure that people in our communities have the food and supplies they need:

“Our members did not come to Kroger for a job to become frontline workers facing sickness and death every day. They came for good jobs, so that they can raise their families and serve their communities. These grocery professionals do hard jobs on a “regular” day – now, these jobs have become especially dangerous.

The hardworking men and women who make Kroger successful deserve more pay for facing that danger. Do the right thing and restore Hero Pay until they can toss the masks and ditch the thermometers – and until they do not feel scared to go to work anymore.

We urge you to continue Hero Pay – our members, your workforce, have earned it and they deserve it.”

See the letter to Kroger CEO from UFCW Region 4 Presidents.

Members of UFCW Local 700 are essential to ensuring that every American continues to have access to the food they need to feed their families, and you must be provided with necessary job protections and resources. We’ve been fighting for you – and will keep fighting for you.

We’re proud to announce that we’ve won additional pay for our members at Kroger. This “Thank You” pay is for people who are active on or before May 23. Eligible full-time workers will receive $200 on May 28 and $200 on June 18; eligible part-time workers will receive $100 on May 28 and $100 on June 18.

We fought to extend COVID-19 Emergency Leave guidelines, which will continue, so that workers who are directly affected by the virus or experiencing related symptoms will still have access to additional paid time off.

UFCW Local 700 President Joe Chorpenning issued the following statement responding to Kroger’s decision to end “Hero Pay” and instead give out a bonus:

“We are not back to normal. Kroger is thriving in a pandemic because of the work of our members. It’s our members on the frontlines. It’s our members who continue to serve the public at great risk to themselves and their families. They’ve earned more and they deserve more.”

UFCW International President Marc Perrone issued the following statement:

“We are extremely disappointed, and we know that our members are, by Kroger’s decision to end Hero Pay.

At the beginning of this crisis, Kroger first called these workers heroes and now they have decided that they’ve stopped being heroes.

The simple fact is that the Covid-19 pandemic continues. Social distancing continues. Kroger workers are still required to wear masks. There is no vaccine.

This decision is even more inexplicable given that sales are up and profits are up.

The reality is that Kroger is choosing to ignore this pandemic. This is not how we treat heroes in America.”

We’re fighting for the job protections and resources you need. UFCW Presidents in Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, and Kentucky sent a letter to Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen, fighting to continue the Hero Pay. You’ve been on the frontlines of this crisis, and you’re still there, serving the public, making sure that people in our communities have the food and supplies they need:

“The members of the UFCW that work for [Kroger] are stocking shelves, bagging groceries, cleaning, and running cash registers while wearing masks and gloves to try to save their lives and the lives of their families…

This is no time for the company to turn its back on the very people who’ve gotten Kroger through this pandemic thus far with no end in sight. We ask that you continue the Hero Pay, as your competitors have done, through the month of May.”

See the letter from UFCW700 President Joe Chorpenning to Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen about continuing extra pay for you.

Over 14,000 members of UFCW Local 700 are hard at work on the front lines of this crisis – in grocery stores and food processing plants across Indiana. These workers are putting their lives on the line every day to keep our country fed during this deadly outbreak and they must be protected. Our members are essential to ensuring that every American continues to have access to the food they need to feed their families, and they must be provided with essential protections.

The COVID-19 pandemic is presenting an unprecedented challenge for our nation’s food supply and every worker across the food processing and meatpacking industries. UFCW represents over 250,000 members who work at meatpacking and poultry plants across the country, including thousands in Indiana. We are America’s largest meatpacking and food processing union.

Federal and state elected leaders must mandate and enforce clear guidelines to ensure that every employer lives up to the high safety standards these workers deserve and the American people expect. We want workers to have the protections they need to be safe on the job and we are asking that the federal and state governments prioritize the safety of these workers, which is how we keep plants open and protect our food supply.

“Worker safety must come first, and there must be strong and enforceable rules to protect them on the job,” said UFCW Local 700 President Joe Chorpenning. “We are committed to working with the company on continuous improvements to ensure that our members are as safe as possible. We’re asking all our leaders – federal, state, corporate, and union – to work together and help keep these plants open by protecting these workers.”

Together, UFCW Local 700 and Tyson have previously implemented additional safety measures including social distancing and restricted access; temperature checks; modified time off policies; facial coverings; additional sanitation procedures; and improved worker communication.