We want to provide you with some health and safety news.
After meeting with Kroger on January 21st to continue contract negotiations, Kroger informed us— only after we asked about whether any Kroger workers have died due to this exploding pandemic— that two Houston Kroger workers have in fact died and one worker was recently in the ICU due to COVID.
In light of these terrible deaths, it is absolutely shocking that Kroger continues to hide the truth about the impact of COVID-19 on Kroger UFCW members, customers, and the Houston community.
These tragic deaths, and the fact that a record number of Kroger workers are being exposed to COVID-19, proves why our fight over healthcare, hazard pay, and health and safety is so important. To be clear, our fight with Kroger is not just about a contract, it is about protecting lives and preventing the deaths of our UFCW members.
Please know that we have made clear to Kroger that they must provide immediate disclosure when there are positive cases among your fellow Kroger workers. To date, they refuse to immediately provide us the necessary information on positive cases in the stores. This is unacceptable.
In addition, we have demanded that Kroger take immediate action to address the many health and safety concerns you and your fellow workers have raised, including not deep cleaning the store daily or after major shopping rushes; not sanitizing shopping carts or baskets after each use; and not providing time for workers to wash their hands or sanitize their workstations. Again, they continue to make excuses rather than take action.
For the sake of our members’ health and safety, if you know of any COVID-related cases or have any health and safety concerns in your store, let us know immediately:
Fill out this form now and let us know your concerns in the store.
And please don’t forget to sign up for important blast text alerts, by texting KROGERHOU to 83071.
Thank you for all that you do and please, stay safe.
Brandon Hopkins
UFCW Local 455 President
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