Two Kroger stores saw their last days of business on Saturday due to the company’s decision to close the locations rather than add $4 to workers’ hourly wages in compliance with the city’s “hero pay” ordinance.
The Ralphs and Food 4 Less stores also announced in February that they would be closing after Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia signed the Premium Pay for Grocery Workers Ordinance on Jan. 20, which requires stores that employ 300 or more grocery workers nationally and more than 15 employees per store in Long Beach to pay the workers an additional $4 per hour for working during the coronavirus pandemic.
“The provision of premium pay better ensures the retention of these essential workers who are on the frontlines of this pandemic providing essential services and who are needed throughout the duration of the COVID-19 emergency,” the city’s ordinance said.
In the February statement, Ralphs and Food 4 Less said, “This misguided action by the Long Beach City Council oversteps the traditional bargaining process and applies to some, but not all, grocery workers in the city.” It added, “The irreparable harm that will come to employees and local citizens is a direct result of the City of Long Beach’s attempt to pick winners and losers, and is deeply unfortunate.”
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Garcia did not immediately respond to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment, but after the City Council advanced the ordinance in December, he tweeted, “When large corporations don’t step up to provide hazard pay for grocery workers, we will step in and protect these heroes.” He added, “Thank you to the Long Beach City Council for adopting the emergency $4 hazard pay for grocery workers.”
The California Grocers Association filed a suit against Long Beach in January, asking a federal judge to enjoin the city from enforcing the ordinance, but it was denied a month later. The California Grocers Association has appealed the denial of preliminary injunction to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
When asked for comment, a spokesman for Ralphs pointed the Washington Examiner to its joint statement with Food 4 Less but added that the closures did not result in layoffs and that all associates have been placed at neighboring stores.
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Two other Ralphs locations and a Food 4 Less in Los Angeles will also close on May 15 after the city’s passage of a similar “hero pay” law.
