Kroger union workers OK contract, avoid strike

Kroger union workers at 82 stores in Ohio have signed off on a new contract with the grocer after rejecting previous ones.

Members of the Local 1059 of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union approved the contract by a vote of 3,546 to 3,193 this week, according to a union member who shared the voting total with The Dispatch Friday morning.

The local has about 12,500 members in a region that extends to 47 counties in central, north-northwest, and south-southeast Ohio including cities such as Mansfield, Zanesville and Portsmouth.

Union leaders and company officials say they are pleased with the outcome.

Despite the approval, two union members who reached out to The Dispatch expressed frustration over the vote and say they don’t understand why this contract was approved while previous ones were rejected.

The previous contract offer was turned down by 55% of those who voted and 81% of those who voted authorized a strike, according to the union.

Kroger said many jobs within the store will get at least a $2-per-hour increase in wages over the three-year contract. Starting wages for clerks will go to $14.25 per hour. Many workers also will get ratification bonuses.

Workers have expressed frustration during the talks over wages, benefits and staffing after working through a pandemic that they say threatened their health while also putting up with difficult customers.

“The union has failed us and this is just another win for the ultra-rich, and another loss for the average American,” one worker said. “With these wages, the young members who are trying to move out of their parents will not be able to. Single-income households will undoubtedly struggle for the next three years and good help will be impossible to find/keep when fast food is paying more.”