Grocers sue San Leandro over new $5-an-hour hazard pay requirement
FacebookTwitterEmail
The Safeway store at College and Claremont avenues in Oakland, Calif. on Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2015. Oakland was the first Bay Area city to pass a mandatory pay raise for grocery store workers during the pandemic.Paul Chinn / The Chronicle
The California Grocers Association on Wednesday sued San Leandro, a day after the City Council voted in favor of an immediate and mandatory $5-an-hour pay increase for employees at large grocers that have remained open during the pandemic.
San Leandro is the second city in the Bay Area to be sued by the trade association. The group, which represents most grocery stores in California, sued Oakland on Feb. 3 after a similar measure was passed in the city. The trade group has lawsuits pending against the cities of West Hollywood, Montebello and Long Beach after similar laws mandating supplemental pay for grocery workers were passed.
KUNC
Bert Cutshall (left, Zoom screenshot), Maricela Guzman (middle, picture by Adam Rayes) and Phillip Tucker (right, courtesy picture) all have been working at King Soopers for years. They all say the pandemic has put them at a difficult crossroads between their health and economic wellbeing.
Updated: March 12, 2021 at 12:46 PM MST
The arbitrator sided with all but one of the workers in March, according to UFCW 7. Safeway declined KUNC s request for comment on the arbitration. King Soopers has yet to respond.
People 65 and older began qualifying for the COVID-19 vaccine on Feb. 8 under the state s phase system. Grocery workers younger than 65 began qualifying in early March.
Dollar General will pay workers to get the coronavirus vaccine
Taylor Telford, The Washington Post
Jan. 13, 2021
FacebookTwitterEmail
Dollar General workers who get the coronavirus vaccine will be rewarded with four hours of pay, the company announced Wednesday, making it one of the first major retailers to incentivize inoculations for its workforce.
While such major brands as Walmart and CVS have key roles in the distribution of vaccines, most are encouraging employees to get vaccinated but not mandating it. But as doses become available to front-line workers outside of heath and long-term care, Dollar General wants to remove barriers - including transit and child-care costs - that might prevent its 157,000 employees from receiving the vaccine, the discount retailer said in a news release. On average, Dollar General employees make a base rate of $9.80 an hour, according to PayScale.