Long Beach grocery store workers may soon receive an additional $4 an hour of “hero pay” thanks to the city council’s united movement towards an urgency ordinance at their Tuesday, Dec. 15 meeting.
At the beginning of the pandemic, grocers like Kroger voluntarily instated “hero pay,” an hourly wage boost to compensate for working in a high-risk environment during the pandemic.
That pay boost ended during the summer when the first surge subsided.
“We are at a critical moment in this crisis when things are far more serious than at any other point this year,” Councilmember Mary Zendejas said. “We also know that some of the people most impacted by this pandemic are our frontline workers, and amongst those most vulnerable right now are the grocery store workers.”
As customers flocked to grocers to stock up on essentials, grocers have benefitted from panic-buying and continued sales of disinfectants. With limited outdoor dining, consumers are also cooking more food at home.
Walmart, Amazon, Kroger, Target and Albertsons, among others, have all seen record increases in sales, according to a December study by the Brookings Institute.
Derek Smith, political director of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union 324, pointed out that, as essential workers, grocery store employees have been thrust onto the frontlines.
“Calling grocery workers ‘heroes’ or ‘essential’ is not enough. Our members didn’t ask to be heroes and they surely aren’t paid like heroes,” Smith said. “We can no longer rely on the industry to do the right thing.”
Grocery store worker Elizabeth Leon said that the pandemic had changed her life and the lives of her fellow grocery workers.
“I am stressed out, physically and mentally drained. I go to work every day with the question in mind, ‘Is today the day? Is today the day I get infected with COVID? Is today the day I give it to my kids?’” she said through tears. “It’s very stressful.”
Another Vons worker, Donna Villagomez, said that she felt like “a canary in a coal mine.” Without staff enforcement of masks, social distancing and disinfecting, she said “every contact puts our lives at risk.”
If passed, the urgency ordinance will require grocers to pay their workers an additional $4 per hour. As currently written, the pay increase would sunset after 120 days with an option for the council to extend the program.
Though the item has not been fully drafted, newly-elected Vice Mayor Rex Richardson made sure to point out that the requirement would not affect mom and pop grocers. He offered a friendly amendment to limit the scope of the ordinance to grocers with 300 or more employees nationally, which was accepted by Zendejas.
The council was unanimous in their support of the item.
“Together we can bring forward an item that will not only protect our most vulnerable frontline workers but also save lives,” Zendejas said. “That’s the endgame here.”
The next Long Beach City Council meeting will take place Tuesday, Jan. 5 via teleconference.
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