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.”