Workers Return With Dignity Kroger Strike Ends; Workers Face Harassment
Strikers from only 5% of the Kroger stores took on the entire national corporation. In this sense, it was a David-and-Goliath-like battle.
By Phillis Engelbert
On Saturday morning, June 20, ten representatives of area union locals gathered at the Kroger store on South Industrial at Stadium. They made and signed a poster thatread: "Thank You UFCW Kroger Workers for Your Courageous Stand and for Uniting the Labor Community." They then marched through that store (as well as Westgate and Broadway Kroger stores) displaying their sign. They exchanged helios, handshakes, hugs, and applause with workers who were back on the job for the first time after ten weeks on the picket line. Several shoppers in the stores also applauded the workers whose picket lines many had respected. The action was a boost to workers who had somewhat reluctantly returned to work under the terms of the new contract.
Now that the strike is over, it is difficult to point to a clear victor. Strikers from only 5% of the Kroger stores took on the entire national Corporation. In this sense, it was a David-and-Goliath-like battle. But now newly returned workers, faced with reprisals by managers, must continue their fight in the workplace.
The results of the strike certainly have been mixed. The workers struck for ten weeks, only to settle for a contract not markedly, if at all, better than the company's last offer before the strike. The recent settlement features slight improvements over the old offer in terms of wages and benefits for some employees, but the workers lost in the area of vendor stocking (Kroger now has virtually unlimited right to use workers employed by vendor companies for stocking and cleaning). Still Kroger was unable to break the union and was eventually forced back to the table.
The 7,800 workers from the 64 Kroger stores of Southeast Michigan feit the fïnancial strain from the start of the strike. Very few could live on the $60 per week provided by the strike fund and few had savings to draw on. Many were forced to find other jobs. The strike also imposed a great deal of emotional stress on workers and their families.
There's no doubt that the strikers suffered, but the strike financially injured Kroger as well. With $120 billion in sales nationwide last year, Kroger was able for several weeks to weather the estimated weekly losses of $20 million in sales, plus the hundreds of thousands of dollars spent on advertising. Finally, in the ninth week, Kroger' s losses (financial and in community relations) drove them back to the table.
The strikers were not alone in this fight. They received essential cooperation from Ann Arbor consumers. According to the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 876, Ann Arbor was the area of strongest community support throughout the strike. Sales were down by 80% at many Ann Arbor stores.
Another significant factor in this battle was the support of the labor community. Labor solidarity was very strong through the entire región on strike. Here in Ann Arbor, the Community Coalition to Support Kroger Strikers (which includes over 30 unions and community groups) held rallies and press conferences, raised funds, participated in picketing and undertook other support activities. The strike proved an unprecedented opportunity to build inter-union solidarity in the Ann Arbor area. This coalition is continuing to meet and is considering staying together to respond to any future labor conflicts.
Consumers and labor groups still need to stand by Kroger workers in the wake of the settlement. Apparently, Kroger management is now treating newly-returned workers with the same disregard that first forced the workers to strike. Workers complain that scabs are being given raises and bonuses and promoted to supervisory positions over expicket captains. They also claim that those who were active in the strike are being punished with reduced work hours, schedule changes, and threats of dismissal. For Kroger shoppers who wish to continue to support the workers, it is worth registering concern about the treatment of workers, to the store manager.
Perhaps the most important message to be taken from this strike is that unions are still capable of fighting back. Labor has been suffering heavy defeats in recent years, most recently in the case of the Caterpillar strike in Peona, IL. In that case, UAW members, under threat of permanent replacement, went back to work. Yet 7,800 heroic Southeast Michigan Kroger workers, along with other union members and supporters in the community, have shown that they can take on and inflict financial loss on the nation's number one supermarket chain. This puts all employers on notice that the tide is turning and that organized labor and their supporters are ready for a new round of labor relations.