Grocery stores, which have served as a lifeline during the pandemic, are now at the center of an increasingly bitter political battle as labor unions and politicians fight to secure hazard pay for workers who have kept the businesses going.
Labor groups scored a victory Tuesday, when Los Angeles became the largest city in the nation to back a proposal requiring grocery stores to temporarily pay workers an extra $5 an hour.
The raises also called “hero pay” have become a hot issue in progressive cities in California and beyond, with backers saying grocery workers have put their health at risk to serve customers as COVID-19 has spread. There have been numerous outbreaks at supermarkets and other retailers, with workers getting sick and in some cases spreading the coronavirus to family members.
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Some Los Angeles County grocery workers may soon be entitled to renewed “hero pay” in recognition of the hazards they are facing during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Long Beach City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to draft an urgent ordinance mandating an extra $4 an hour for grocery store workers for at least the next 120 days.
Councilwoman Mary Zendejas, who introduced the proposal, cited the need for immediate action amid soaring hospitalizations and infection rates.
“We are at a critical moment in this crisis when things are far more serious than at any other point this year,” Zendejas said during the council meeting. “We know that some of the people most impacted by this pandemic are frontline workers, and among those most vulnerable right now are the grocery store workers.”