| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 21, 2000 |
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Kroger Workers Draw the Line for Benefits and Retirement Security Kroger workers are fed up. Workers at the company's grocery stores throughout the Columbus, Ohio area, are gearing up for the fight of their lives. The biggest supermarket chain in the U.S. has been enjoying soaring profits and expansion. But Kroger hasn't shared its windfall with the people who made it possible -- the thousands of workers in Columbus and the surrounding area. In meetings yesterday, 12,000 Kroger employees and members of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) Local 1059 voted to reject the latest offer by the company. Workers gave Kroger a 24-hour deadline: show your commitment to settle a contract with benefits workers deserve or at midnight on Thursday-- picket lines will go up at Kroger stores. "I've worked for Kroger for 20 years and we've made sacrifices in order to build this company to the great chain it is today. It's only right that Kroger show us they care about our retirement security and about maintaining these good jobs for its future employees," said Melissa Carrington, from Mansfield, Ohio, a UFCW member and long-time Kroger employee. The current contract expired on September 16, 2000 and workers yesterday soundly rejected the company's most recent offer. "Going on strike is hard, but we have to take a stand. Kroger thinks it can roll over its hard-working employees and we won't let that happen," said Durell Ellis, another long-time Kroger employee and UFCW member. Members of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) Local 1059 are preparing for a strike. Picket signs have been distributed to stores throughout the area and members have set up picket line schedules for 77 Kroger stores. "Our members are the key to Kroger's success and they deserve a secure future. It's only fair," said Becky Berroyer, President of UFCW Local 1059 addressing workers at the strike vote meetings today. UFCW members can hear strike updates by calling the toll-free hotline - 800-282-3228, 614-237-3228 or by logging onto the website http://www.ufcw1059.com UFCW Local 1059 represents 18,000 workers in Ohio's retail food industry. |
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