| (February 1, 2021, 2:40 p.m. updated 3:30 p.m.) -- The Kroger Co, will close it s Ralphs location at 3380 N. Los Coyotes Diagonal and Food 4 Less store at 2185 E. South St,, attributing its decision in part to City Council votes to require grocers with over 300 employees to pay $4 an hour "hero pay" to their employees.. A company release called both locations "long strugglng: said tghey will close April 17, 2021
The Council votes were 9-0 on Dec. 15 to draft the ordinance and 9-0 on Jan. 19 to enact it as a urgency measure: (taking effect immediately.) Mayor Garcia (who has no policy setting vote) was a strong proponent of the hero pay ordinance Immediately following the Council's enactment vote, the CA Grocers Ass'n filed a federal court lawsuit against the City seking to declare the ordinance unconstitutional. On Jan. 22, the Council held a closed session meeting on the litigation. In a company release, Kroger called the two stores "long struggling" and stated in pertinent part;
"As a result of the City of Long Beach’s decision to pass an ordinance mandating Extra Pay for grocery workers, we have made the difficult decision to permanently close long-struggling store locations in Long Beach," said a company spokesperson. "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."...
.."The irreparable harm that will come to employees and local citizens as a direct result of the City of Long Beach’s attempt to pick winners and losers, is deeply unfortunate," continued the company spokesperson. "We are truly saddened that our associates and customers will ultimately be the real victims of the city council’s actions."
Since March, the grocers’ family of companies have invested $1.3 billion to both reward associates and to implement dozens of safety measures. The safety measures implemented early in the pandemic were just the beginning, as both grocers strengthened their vigilance and resolve the longer the pandemic continued to last.
In addition to providing several rewards to all frontline grocery, supply chain, manufacturing, pharmacy and call center associates, the organization has invested to support associates through additional benefits like paid emergency leave and the companies’ $15 million Helping Hands fund that provides financial support to associates experiencing certain hardships due to COVID-19. All extra pay provided was in addition to the total compensation package Ralphs and Food 4 Less have long offered to associates, which includes competitive wages, strong health care coverage, and a reliable pension benefit.
Despite these challenging circumstances, as Southern California’s grocers, Ralphs and Food 4 Less remain committed to serving its communities and the companies are thankful for the dedicated associates who serve communities in California every day.
"We are proud of our dedicated associates who are on the frontlines, serving our customers when they need us most," said a company spokesperson. If City Hall issues a statement on today's development, LBREPORT.com will add it to our coverage..
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