NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS |
Grocery stores respond to epidemic:
Sneezeguards, raises, bonuses, and a hiring spree
By Don McIntosh
Grocery companies that own
Fred Meyer/QFC and Safe-
way/Albertsons will provide up
to two weeks of pay for work-
ers who are diagnosed with
COVID-19 or required to self-
quarantine, without drawing
down their accrued sick leave
or other paid leave, United
Food and Commercial Workers
(UFCW) Local 555 announced
March 20.
Both companies are adopting
that policy nationwide at both
union and nonunion stores.
Albertsons Companies—
which owns Safeway, Albert-
son, Haggen and other chains—
also announced a temporary
$2-an-hour pay increase from
March 15 through at least
March 28. About 230,000 union
and nonunion workers will re-
ceive what the company called
“appreciation pay,” including e-
commerce pickers and drivers,
and workers at distribution cen-
ters and manufacturing plants.
The company also announced it
will be installing Plexiglas
“sneeze guards” in checkout
lanes in all 2,200 stores over the
next two weeks—as a protec-
tive barrier between customers
and checkers. It’s waiving phar-
macy delivery fees. And it’s
pausing self-service operations
like soup and salad bars, mak-
ing cart wipes and hand sani-
tizer stations available, and re-
serving special times for seniors
and other vulnerable shoppers.
Kroger Company—which
owns Fred Meyer, QFC, and
other chains—announced its
own one-time “appreciation
bonus” of $300 per full-time
employee and $150 per part-
time employee (less than 30
hours). The bonus, to be paid
April 3, applies to every hourly
grocery, supply chain, manufac-
turing and customer service
worker, both union and
nonunion.
Nonunion Walmart, mean-
while, announced that it plans
to hire 150,000 new employees
in its stores and distribution
centers through the end of May,
a nearly 10% increase in its
work force, and pay $365 mil-
lion in cash bonuses to hourly
workers in the United States on
April 2.
UFCW Local 555 is also
calling on the State of Oregon
to designate grocery workers as
essential personnel akin to first
responders like Minnesota, Ver-
mont, Michigan have done.
That could make them eligible
for state-paid childcare, and
would give them permission to
move freely in the event of
roadblocks, curfews and stay-
at-home orders. It could also
prioritize grocery workers for
COVID-19 testing and protec-
tive gear.
“In this crisis, we see the gro-
cery line as the front line,” said
Local 555 Secretary-Treasurer
Jeff Anderson.
MORE
UFCW Local 555 has up-to-date rec-
ommendations and info on coron-
avirus protection at ufcw555.org/
covid-19-information.
April 3, 2020 | PAGE 3
Daimler closes truck plant in
Portland, laying off 700
By Don McIntosh
In response to the COVID-19
epidemic, Daimler Trucks
North America closed its
Western Star and Freightliner
truck plants in Portland,
North and South Carolina
March 26, with plans, for
now, to reopen April 6. Daim-
ler previously closed its auto
factories in Europe.
In Portland, the closure im-
pacts roughly 700 members
of four unions: Machinists
Local Lodge 1005, Teamsters
Local 305, Sign Painters &
Paint Makers Local 1094, and
Service Employees Interna-
tional Union (SEIU) Local
49. Representatives of the
four unions learned of the clo-
sure in conference calls
March 22.
The closure comes as pub-
lic health officials recom-
mend people maintain six feet
of distance to prevent the
spread of the coronavirus.
Workers can’t always do that
at the truck plant, because
some jobs require two people
working in close quarters.
In the weeks leading up to
the closure, Machinists Dis-
trict Lodge W24 rep Dwain
Panian said the Portland plant
had deployed extra janitorial
crews to do multiple daily
cleanings of rest rooms and
frequently-touched surfaces
like hand rails, light switches,
and time clocks.
“They’ve been really
proactive in trying to maintain
the health at the plant,” said
Panian, working from home.
Panian said he hasn’t heard
of any cases of COVID-19
among workers at the plant so
far. But he did hear from a
number of members who
thought the plant should close
to prevent the spread.
The previous week, Gen-
eral Motors, Ford Motor and
Fiat Chrysler announced auto
plants would close for at least
a week after the United Auto
Workers pressured them to do
so to protect workers. Honda,
Toyota and Nissan announced
temporary closure of their
North American plants as
well.