The Teamsters union at Kroger has voted with 88 percent support to ratify a new five-year national contract, covering over 1,500 Kroger workers across the U.S., and improving wages, benefits, and working conditions.
“The strength of this agreement is a direct result of locals working together and putting members first,” said Tom Erickson, director of the Teamsters Warehouse Division, in a statement. “Thanks to coordinated bargaining, as well as the input and participation of rank-and-file members, we were able to win the most lucrative deal in the history of the national contract at Kroger.”
For the first time, the national negotiating committee included rank-and-file industry members who were instrumental in the bargaining process, according to a statement by the union.
“Our members at Kroger refused to back down, they reminded the grocery giant of who makes this company run. They fought hard for this contract,” said James E. Jones Jr., president of Local 667, in a statement. “The success of this contract was made possible because of the new approach to bargaining. We intended for this contract to set the standard for warehouse workers and drivers in the Memphis-area grocery market, and we succeeded with the support of every local working together in a coordinated fashion.”
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