Posted on 02/01/2021 4:47:42 PM PST by Mark
Grocery company Kroger announced Monday it will be shuttering two of its stores in Long Beach — a Ralph’s location and a Food4Less store — in response to a city ordinance requiring a $4 “hero pay” salary boost for some workers.
“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,” according to a company statement. “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. We are truly saddened that our associates and customers will ultimately be the real victims of the city council’s actions.”
There was no was no immediate response to a request for comment from the city. Mayor Robert Garcia was a major proponent of the ordinance. Before signing the measure, he wrote on Twitter that grocery workers “have been on the front lines of this pandemic and deserve this support.”
According to Kroger, the Ralphs store at 3380 N. Los Coyotes Diagonal and the Food4Less store at 2185 E. South St. will close on April 17.
The Long Beach City Council last month gave initial approval to a law requiring large grocers to pay its workers an extra $4 an hour in “hero pay” for their work during the COVID-19 pandemic. The law applies to companies with 300 or more workers overall and more than 15 employees per location in Long Beach. Primis Player Placeholder
The California Grocers Association was among those opposing the ordinance, saying it would not do anything to boost the safety of workers, but could actually lead to higher costs for consumers.
According to Kroger, the company has spent $1.3 billion “to both reward associates and to implement dozens of safety measures” during the pandemic.
One of my oldest arguments to wage hikes.
Surprising that Walmart LB hasn’t weighed in yet. I’ve been there a few times and it’s always packed.
No biggie.
Can’t CA simply FORCE the store to stay open?
Hey, it’s the People’s Republic of Kalifornia.
They do what they want.
Seriously though, no sympathy.
They get the government they deserve.
Keep voting blue, dumbasses.
That’s racist!
</sarcasm>
“Lots of “teens” in long beach”
Yep lol. I dont drive to the LBC unless I have official business. And people wonder why the LBC is quoted almost every time in Snoop Dogg and Dr Dre songs..
I’m waiting for someone to film a council person/family go outside of the city to shop at grocery stores.
The Mayor and his pals might have done this for pure pandering and socialist motives. If you find out which grocery chain(s) in Long Beach had less than 300 employees or 15 per location (and are thus exempt, giving them a competitive advantage), and you might have a short list for who paid City Councilors to pass this.
I can only guess that Ralph’s in LB has been bled to death by government, shoplifters, thieves, and security costs so thoroughly that this excuse to leave is a relief.
It takes a do nothing, stupefied professional leftist bureaucrat to pop off with this kind of jackassery.
At "convenience store" prices, of necessity.
They don't have the volume purchasing power of the grocery chains.
It's not a replacement for grocery stores.
Dollar General, piaging Dollar General!
Fight 4 $15!
Atlas Shrugged, by so many American companies, selling out to China.
Just saying.
I have to question; where does a city government get the power to dictate what a business pays its employees?
Go look at the mayors Twitter and notice all the ant tweets are hidden
https://mobile.twitter.com/RobertGarcia/status/1356386271384326146
Wouldn’t it be fabulous if we could dictate their wages and preferred behavior? They supposedly represent us but I don’t see it that way. You wouldn’t know they work FOR US....
Exactly! Why is the city taxing the “heros” in the grocery business? For shame!
What happens when they’re closed?
You go chew the city council out for their idiocy I guess.
“What happens when they’re closed?”
Like lots of poor people in the city, they can go to the Quicky-mart at the gas station and pick up a small bottle of orange juice and a day-old corndog for $6 and have breakfast.
Fair point
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