Central Indiana Kroger workers rejected their new contract. What does that mean for you?

Wherever you live in Bloomington, there is a Kroger location in your neighborhood.

Within those glass sliding doors, Kroger workers are battling the company and working with their union to increase their paychecks and improve their benefits. All the while, other workplaces are offering higher wages and sign-on bonuses.

Kroger workers voted down their latest contract. They're unhappy with what the company's and their union's negotiations have brought forth thus far. Negotiations will begin again on June 30. 

"It's just kind of like enraging for a lot of the folks that have been there

forever," said Olivia Sears, former assistant manager at the northside Kroger.

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What's going on with negotiations?

Local 700, which represents central Indiana, of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, is currently negotiating its new three-year contract with the corporation for the area's workers. 

Negotiations began in late April, and the union found a tentative agreement for the new contract May 24. Members of the local union ultimately rejected it in early June. 

Workers continue to work under the previous contract, which has been extended twice.

"The biggest takeaway is it's still a work in progress," UFCW Local 700 representative Brigid Kelly said.

What is the union?

The UFCW represents about 835,000 Kroger workers and two-thirds of the Kroger stores across the country, including affiliated brands, including Jay C Food Stores and Pay Less Super Market.

The country is split up into regions with unions negotiating individual contracts. The central Indiana branch represents more than 8,000 workers at 68 stores, including all five Bloomington Kroger locations, and stores in Indianapolis, Lafayette, Martinsville and Terre Haute.

"We know grocery workers have always been essential and should be treated that way," the UFCW website says. "We believe all Kroger workers deserve stable schedules, living wages, and safe workplaces."

What was in the rejected contract?

The new contract contains a number of changes, including hourly raises, full-time stipulations and insurance plans. Additionally, a no strike clause will continue. 

Most full-time employees would receive a $1.65 cent total hourly wage increase over the next three years. Many part-time employees would have a $1.65 to $2.75 raise over the same period.

To stay at full-time status, employees have to work 36 hours a week. If someone works less than that, they will get dropped down to part-time, losing full-time pay and benefits. They then have to work full-time hours for 10 consecutive weeks to regain that status. The new contract would have made it more difficult by extending 10 weeks to a year instead.

With ratification of the rejected contract, full-time employees would have received a one-time, taxed bonus of $2,500. Part-time employees working at the highest rate would have received $1,000.

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Kroger has received widespread backlash related to pay disputes.

Kroger ended its "hero" hazard pay, which was an extra $2 per hour, in May 2020. Shortly after, the company announced a one-time "thank you" pay, which was $400 for qualified full-time associates and qualified part-time associates.

Why are workers upset?

Senior employees are the ones getting the least out of the new contract, Sears said. Especially compared to contracts other regions have received, she calls Kroger's offer "insulting."

Many new workers will receive substantially more of a raise, despite being at the company for less time. Despite a higher raise, Sears said those workers are getting a preview of what to expect if they start a career at the grocery chain.

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Additionally, bottom tier workers, like baggers, are classified differently, so raises and benefits don't apply to them. 

"It's one of the hardest jobs in the store," she said. "To not ever be able to get an increase, it really doesn't incentivize anybody in that position to really care about showing up and obviously all of those little things add up to the staffing shortages."

She saw people leave their jobs years ago because other places were offering more money, and this hasn't changed. 

Am I crossing a picket line if I go to Kroger? 

There is currently no strike at any Kroger locations in central Indiana. Workers must still abide by the no strike clause of their last contract. 

When asked about the process to strike, Kelly said the question was premature because the union is working toward goals of higher pay, better healthcare and a safe workplace. 

However, some store workers say they do want to strike. They can't do so without their union.

Cate Charron is an intern at The Herald-Times. You can reach her over email at ccharron@heraldt.com or on Twitter at @CateCharron.