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A Kroger grocery store in a file photo.
(Illustration - Shutterstock)






Kroger Closes 2 Stores in California City
That Required ‘Hero Pay’


BY JACK PHILLIPS
April 18, 2021
Updated: April 19, 2021




Grocery chain Kroger said it closed down two California stores Saturday after
the Long Beach City Council approved a COVID-19-related “hero pay” ordinance
that increased wages by $4 per hour.

The pay increase, mandated in January, was for workers who were employed
at pharmacies and retail stores with 300 or more employees in the
Southern California city.

The move was announced earlier this year, but the Ralph’s and Food 4 Less—both
operated by Kroger—were shut down on April 17, employees told local media outlets.

“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 spokesperson for Kroger
several weeks ago. “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.”

Last month, Kroger also announced it would close down three stores—two Ralphs and
one Food 4 Less—in nearby Los Angeles, which passed its own $5-per-hour “hero pay”
boost to workers amid the pandemic.



Robert Gonzales, Kroger employee for 26 years, addresses a crowd of
supermarket workers gathered to protest in front of a Food 4 Less
supermarket in Long Beach, Calif., on Feb. 3, 2021.
(Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images)


Kroger, in a statement, said they were “underperforming stores,” while maintaining that
the extra cost of temporary hazard pay made it impossible to operate.

“The hero pay mandate in Los Angeles will add an additional $20 million in operating costs
over the next 120 days, making it financially unsustainable to continue operating the three
underperforming locations,” the firm said. “Despite our efforts to overcome the challenges
we were already facing at these locations, the extra pay mandate makes it impossible to
run a financially sustainable business that ensures our ability to continue serving the Los Angeles
community at those three locations with reliable access to affordable, fresh groceries and
other essentials.”

It added, “We are proud of our role as a leading employer in Los Angeles and remain
committed to our dedicated associates on the frontlines serving in our 65 other area locations.”

“Hero pay” mandates have also been passed in several other Southern California cities,
including Coachella, Montebello, and Irvine.

Last week, two Los Angeles City Council members introduced a motion to investigate
Kroger’s decision to close several of its stores in the city.


“The city has an interest in considering whether it should take legislative action
to address these closures and potentially future closures of other grocery stores
especially in areas of the city that are commonly known as Food Deserts,” the motion
introduced by Councilmen Marqueece Harris-Dawson and Paul Koretz, both Democrats, reads.



The Epoch Times has contacted Kroger for comment.