RALEIGH-DURHAM—On Tuesday and Wednesday, UFCW Local 204 members in North Carolina ratified a new agreement with Kroger, protecting quality, affordable health care for workers and retirees. The four-year agreement covers 1700 Kroger employees. It ensures that pension benefits are secure, and that workers will receive wage increases for each of those four years.
Kroger workers in the Raleigh-Durham area stood together in a show of solidarity through two months of bargaining, making it possible to secure a good contract and successfully avoid a potential strike.
“We’re very satisfied with this contract,” said Local 204 member Nina Tilley. “I don’t think we would have an agreement like this without the support we got from the community here, and from UFCW members all over the country.” Thousands of community and UFCW members sent emails to Kroger, urging them to continue to provide Kroger workers with quality, affordable health care. UFCW members in Kroger stores nationwide also kept abreast of the contract negotiations and offered their support.
Kroger and UFCW members differed mainly on the employees’ health care fund and the amount that employees would pay towards health care coverage. In negotiating this final contract offer, however, members were able to maintain and even improve affordable family health care.
Local 204 members voted overwhelmingly to ratify the agreement on September 26-27th.