2008 Woodie Awards
Kroger avoids strike, reaches agreement with employees
Erin Bowen
Issue date: 11/9/07 Section: Community
Nearly 11,000 United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 1099 Union reached an agreement with Kroger Co. late Wednesday to avoid a large-scale strike.
UFCW is a labor union that represents more than 1.4 million workers in both the United States and Canada in industries such as agriculture, health care, meatpacking, poultry and food processing, manufacturing, textile and chemical trades and retail food. Local branch 1099 represents workers in western and southwestern Ohio along with northern Kentucky and southeastern Indiana, according to the UFCW 1099 Web site.
According to Meghan Glynn, media contact for Kroger, the store was informed Nov. 8 that the UFCW 1099 in Cincinnati had finally ratified a new three-year contract with Kroger.
"The contract is effective immediately and will affect hourly associates at our 79 locations in Cincinnati, northern Kentucky and southeast Indiana," Glynn said.
With headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio, Kroger Co. is known as one of the nation's largest grocery retailers.
The agreement was reached after UFCW 1099 members voted Wednesday, Nov. 7 on the new contact, said Brigid Kelly, spokeswoman for UFCW 1099. Kelly said 84 percent of members voted to ratify the proposed contract.
The main goals of the UFCW 1099 campaign "Kroger: United We Bargain, Divided We Beg" were addressed in recent negotiations, Kelly said.
"Our main goals, which were achieved in this contract, were to maintain affordable health care, ensure retirement security for our members and for our members to receive wage increases equal to those received by other Kroger workers in the region," Kelly said.
Threats of a strike originally began in August, Kelly said, but had intensified last week as the contract deadline approached.
"A strike was threatened because the company was refusing to fund health care benefits, was intent on underfunding our pension, insisted upon separate wage scales for Ohio and for Indiana and Kentucky and wished to grant wage increases less than other Kroger workers in the region," Kelly said. "Each of these items has been remedied in the contract ratified yesterday."
UFCW is a labor union that represents more than 1.4 million workers in both the United States and Canada in industries such as agriculture, health care, meatpacking, poultry and food processing, manufacturing, textile and chemical trades and retail food. Local branch 1099 represents workers in western and southwestern Ohio along with northern Kentucky and southeastern Indiana, according to the UFCW 1099 Web site.
According to Meghan Glynn, media contact for Kroger, the store was informed Nov. 8 that the UFCW 1099 in Cincinnati had finally ratified a new three-year contract with Kroger.
"The contract is effective immediately and will affect hourly associates at our 79 locations in Cincinnati, northern Kentucky and southeast Indiana," Glynn said.
With headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio, Kroger Co. is known as one of the nation's largest grocery retailers.
The agreement was reached after UFCW 1099 members voted Wednesday, Nov. 7 on the new contact, said Brigid Kelly, spokeswoman for UFCW 1099. Kelly said 84 percent of members voted to ratify the proposed contract.
The main goals of the UFCW 1099 campaign "Kroger: United We Bargain, Divided We Beg" were addressed in recent negotiations, Kelly said.
"Our main goals, which were achieved in this contract, were to maintain affordable health care, ensure retirement security for our members and for our members to receive wage increases equal to those received by other Kroger workers in the region," Kelly said.
Threats of a strike originally began in August, Kelly said, but had intensified last week as the contract deadline approached.
"A strike was threatened because the company was refusing to fund health care benefits, was intent on underfunding our pension, insisted upon separate wage scales for Ohio and for Indiana and Kentucky and wished to grant wage increases less than other Kroger workers in the region," Kelly said. "Each of these items has been remedied in the contract ratified yesterday."
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