With workplace cases continuing to accumulate, union grocery workers staging 18 simultaneous protests to reinstate hazard pay at Giant, Safeway & Kroger
LANDOVER, MD (September 1, 2020) – Union grocery workers from Giant, Safeway and Kroger grocery stores represented by the United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 400 will be staging 18 simultaneous protests at stores in Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia on Thursday.
WHEN: 4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m., Thursday, September 3rd
WHAT: Protests to demand hazard pay
WHO: Union grocery workers from Giant, Safeway and Kroger stores
WHERE: See schedule below
The workers are demanding the grocery chains reinstate hazard pay programs that were canceled earlier this summer. The actions are part of a nationwide effort by UFCW to push employers to provide hazard pay to essential workers on the frontlines.
All three companies provided additional compensation for employees working during the pandemic:
- Giant Food provided a 10% pay increase to store associates but ended the program on May 30 shortly before issuing a final one-time-only bonus of $200 for part-time associates and $400 for full-time associates, paid on July 1.
- Safeway provided an additional $2.00/hour premium for all hours worked and ended the program on June 13. The company then paid a one-time bonus equal to $4 per hour for the average hours worked per week between March 15 and June 13.
- Kroger provided a one-time bonus of $300 for full-timers and $150 for part-timers, paid on April 3. This was followed by a $2.00/hour increase for to all associates for all hours worked and ended the program on May 16. The company then issued a one-time bonus of $400 for qualified full-time associates and $200 for qualified part-time associates, the final installment of which was paid on June 18.
Action Schedule:
All actions take place 4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m., Thursday, September 3rd. Masks and physical distancing required at all times.
Giant:
| Giant #304, 3297 Crain Highway, Waldorf, MD 20603 |
| Giant #378, 1345 Park Rd NW, Washington, DC 20010 |
| Giant #334, 3521 East-West Highway, Hyattsville, MD 20782 |
| Giant #744, 5740 Union Mill Rd, Clifton, VA 20124 |
| Giant #759, 6426 Springfield Blvd, Springfield, VA 22150 |
| Giant #770, 1245 Jefferson Davis Hwy, Fredericksburg, VA 22401 |
Safeway:
| Safeway #1579, 19718 Germantown Rd, Germantown, MD 20874 |
| Safeway #1759, 22350 S Sterling Blvd, Sterling, VA 20164 |
| Safeway #2781, 11201 Georgia Ave, Wheaton, MD 20902 |
| Safeway #3250, 3526 King St, Alexandria, VA 22302 |
| Safeway #4872, 6235 Oxon Hill Rd, Oxon Hill, MD 20745 |
Kroger:
| Kroger #511, 901 N Lombardy St, Richmond, VA 23220 |
| Kroger #537, 975 Providence Square Shopping Center, Virginia Beach, VA 23464 |
| Kroger #402, 1322 S Main St, Blacksburg, VA 24060 |
| Kroger #209, 7223 Williamson Rd, Roanoke, VA 24019 |
| Kroger #790, 133 Beckley Crossing Shopping Cntr, Beckley, WV 25801 |
| Kroger #752, 2007 7th St, Parkersburg, WV 26101 |
| Kroger #772, 5717 MacCorkle Ave SE, Charleston, WV 25304 |
###
The United Food and Commercial Workers Local 400 represents 35,000 members working in the retail food, health care, retail department store, food processing, service and other industries in Maryland, Virginia, Washington, D.C., West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee.