Columbus, Ohio-area Kroger workers outraged that United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1059 officials ignored their strike authorization and forced them to vote on the same contract which they rejected three times. Contractual “negotiations” between the union and the company resulted in a contract favorable to the company, which reduces real wages and imposes a regressive wage scale system which allows the company to reduce wages by reducing hours.
UFCW 1059 repeatedly claims these contracts are the best Kroger has to offer. This is a blatant lie. Kroger has made $4 billion in profits in each of the past two years as workers have been denied hazard pay during a pandemic that has killed thousands of retail workers.
The union’s negotiating committee “unanimously” endorsed these sell-offs, demonstrating that it is only a business management tool. This only underscores the need for rank-and-file workers to demand the abolition of the bargaining committee and the establishment of a committee made up of the most militant and class-conscious workers. The conduct of this fight can no longer be left in the hands of UFCW bureaucrats like Local 1059 President Randy Quickel, who earns more than $222,000 a year.
Instead of the closed-door conspiracy between Kroger and the UFCW, all negotiations must be broadcast live so workers are fully informed and can press for their own demands.
Serving their corporate managers, UFCW tells workers how “good business” this is. If members have the audacity to reject a contract, it just tells them to try again and again and again until they succeed. That’s what UFCW 700 in Indianapolis did this summer. The workers voted three times on the same contract before the union got the result it wanted.
The growing rebellion of workers against the UFCW bureaucracy is instilling fear in the union leadership. The workers reported that they were now receiving texts from the union attempting to promote the contract. A worker shared his text on social media, in which UFCW informed him that he would only receive a $1 raise for a total of $15.25 an hour.
They said, “A dollar? You guys are f….. hilarious.
Another noted that the salary increase offered was the same with each iteration of the contract. They added that “my proposed salary for Stage 1 has been the same for all four iterations of the contract. The only changes made were an additional total of 20 CENTS between Stage 2 and Stage 3 in 2024. I will never see these rates as I am part time and don’t have the hours to reach the average requirement to progress to the stage. Most of us are in this position.
Most workers will only see a $1 increase this year. This paltry sum will not be added until 2024, when most workers will only receive an additional 65 cents. The union is also dangling a $2,500 bonus in front of the workers. However, the bonus only goes to workers who are already on the best salary and full-time. This is in addition to the fact that the bonus will be heavily taxed, making it worth just pennies an hour for the duration of the contract.
The new pay scale system is also designed to weed out experienced workers and lock employees into lower pay scales by reducing hours. In previous contracts, Kroger workers received raises based on total hours worked, earning additional base pay with experience. However, this new model reduces the pay scale to only three levels.
The lowest tier offers insignificant pay increases over the life of the contract, from $14.25 to $14.95, while those in the third tier can be reduced to tier two if they don’t work an average of 36 hours. per week over a year. -long period. This means that workers can see their wages reduced if they have to take time off for sick leave or to take care of their families. Kroger can also simply cut workers’ hours at will in an effort to cut wages. Kroger stores across the country have gone through rapid transitions to hire more part-time employees and exclude older workers.
The maximum salary for a clerk will be capped at $17.40 per hour. But many workers may never even reach this totally insufficient rate. They must first reach level three, which is not guaranteed, and this maximum rate does not come into effect until February 2025, a few months before the contract expires.
Other unwritten details of the contract were reported by a worker. Apparently, if the contract fails, the members will have to reauthorize a strike with a 67% threshold and the company will have to be given 10 days’ strike notice.
More importantly, there will allegedly be no back pay for workers who have been dragged through the mud for months as the union colludes with management to cut real wages.
Everything about the way UFCW handled contract negotiations is rotten. Workers were kept in the dark about contract details, told to travel to remote locations to vote, and were forced to vote again and again on the same contract.
Workers are rightly angry with their union leadership. But it’s not just the business of a few bad apples in charge. It is the very character of the trade union apparatus that drives it to betray the workers and to collaborate with the company.
The UFCW abandoned the interests of its members decades ago. In the 1980s, he colluded with meatpacking companies like Hormel to crush strikes, going so far as to ward local activists and remove their elected leaders. In the grocery industry, UFCW has worked with management to reduce what were once relatively well-paying and secure jobs to low-paying part-time jobs.
Throughout this period, the UFCW has transformed itself into a cheap labor contractor, taking dues from members and pumping them into the high salaries of its top officials and their kin. The UFCW has at least $400 million in financial investments, but offers little or no strike pay. UFCW International President Anthony Perrone earns $308,548 in 2021, while rank-and-file members can barely afford to shop at the store where they work.
The resistance of Kroger workers is part of a growing rebellion against corporate unions. More than 100,000 rail workers are fighting their unions, which have colluded with management and the Biden administration to block strikes and impose pro-company contracts. Railway electricians accused the IBEW of contracting by fraud, with many never even receiving a mail-in ballot to vote.
Workers have the right to organize and fight for what they deserve. They don’t need treacherous bureaucrats to sell them to the bosses. The apparatus must be abolished and the base charged with negotiations and counting.
Railroad workers formed the Railroad Workers Rank-and-File Committee to fight for worker control. Mack Trucks worker Will Lehman is running for president of the United Auto Workers on the platform of abolishing bureaucracy and transferring power to shop floor workers.
Kroger workers in Columbus and across the country are encouraged to join them in this movement. All workers who want to fight for better pay and a better quality of life should contact the WSWS for help in forming the Kroger Workers Rank-and-File Committee, a new organization by and for workers who will fight for workers’ demands, not to give in. to the dictates of the company.