Kroger grocery stores close after city officials mandate “hazard pay” increase for employees

  Two grocery stores owned by Kroger are shutting their doors after a local city council forced them to increase “hazard pay” for employees in response to the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19).

Both a Ralphs and Food 4 Less in Long Beach, Calif., will no longer be serving up groceries to the local community because their parent company says it cannot afford the mandatory wage increases being forced on them, especially since the economy is already in the tank due to continued hysteria over the Chinese virus boogeyman.

“As a result of the City of Long Beach’s decision to pass an ordinance mandating Extra Pay for grocery workers, we have made the difficult decision to permanently close long-struggling store locations in Long Beach,” the company indicated in a statement.

To be clear, both of these stores were already struggling and appear to have been on the verge of potential closure. The decision by the City of Long Beach simply accelerated the process, even as other Kroger stores in the area will remain open for business.

“This misguided action by the Long Beach City Council oversteps the traditional bargaining process and applies to some, but not all, grocery workers in the city,” the company further added.

The ordinance requires that all grocery stores with at least 300 employees nationwide, and more than 15 employees in Long Beach, pay their workers an extra $4 per hour as a form of hazard pay.

Back in January, nearby Santa Monica did the same thing, as did Seattle up in Washington.

“A disproportionate number of people of color are essential workers, and Seattle must continue to lead the way to provide relief and respect to those that have served our community throughout this pandemic,” Mayor Jenny Durkan indicated in a statement about her city’s decision.

“Grocery store workers have continued to work every day of this challenging time and I am glad we are finally able to recognize and compensate the effort that has kept stores open and communities fed over the past year.”

California Grocers Association sues Long Beach

Grocery companies disagree, contending that forcibly increased wages hurt not only businesses but also the people they employ, along with their families.

“The Long Beach City Council put politics ahead of families and jobs in the middle of a pandemic,” indicated the California Grocers Association, which recently filed a lawsuit against the City of Long Beach.

“A $4 / hour increase represents about a 28 percent increase in labor costs for grocers. There’s no way grocers can absorb that big of a cost increase without an offset somewhere else, considering grocers operate with razor thin margins and many stores already operate in the red.”

According to reports, the two Long Beach stores in question are slated to close on April 17.

Meanwhile, Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) fearmongering is showing no signs of relenting. The communist regime of China is now anally swabbing people in search of the germs, while here in the United States, China Joe is doubling down on trying to force Americans to wear masks for the rest of their lives.

“If the state wanted an extra $4 an hour, they should have paid it out of taxes and not required businesses to pay,” wrote one commenter at The Post Millennial (Canada). “More unintended consequences.”

“Everything is about people of colour this month,” wrote another. “Evil whitey hogging all the vaccine for Wuhan flu. Thankfully Joe solved all this on Jan. 20 and it went away.”