Represented by UFCW Local 876, nearly 14,000 Kroger employees from 122 stores in the Detroit metro region approved a four-year contract on April 20. The ground-breaking agreement is a testament to what workers can achieve when they organize and bargain collectively.
Significant gains include:
- Fewer hours required to progress between pay steps
- Increased short-term disability pay for full- and part-time employees
- Unprecedented pension contributions and prepaid legal services for fuel clerks
- Reduction in fees owed for prescription drug coverage
- An additional nine paid sick days per year for eligible members
The contract covers workers throughout store departments, including front end, deli, coffee shop, meat, seafood, grocery, produce, bakery, drug and general merchandise, home goods, pharmacy, floral, and fuel. To prevent pay gaps and ensure equal treatment, employment classifications for some workers hired prior to 2010 were standardized. This realignment applies to department heads, managers, assistant customer service managers, and meat processors around Michigan including in Midland, Essexville, Owosso, and Imlay City, as well as former Seaway/Foodtown stores in Milan, Monroe, and Dundee.
“We did it! I’m proud to have taken part in one of the most sacred duties as a union steward: serving on the Bargaining Committee,” said Jocelyn Smith, Union Steward and Floral Lead, Kroger #365.
“It was an honor to advocate for my fellow workers and help secure such a strong contract that benefits everyone. I am prouder still of all the hard work my fellow shop stewards and our union representatives did to ensure members received factual information — no easy task in the age of social media. I am proud to be part of UFCW 876 and proud of the work we did to make this contract happen.”
