On Tuesday, Kroger employees and UFCW Local 400 staff talked to customers at several stores in the Roanoke region about the company’s "awful" proposal to offer only slight raises to employees over the next four years, provide no paid sick days, and cut off healthcare for retired workers. Several shoppers signed cards (right) to store managers saying these workers “deserve to share in the success they have helped to build.” Store managers threatened workers for talking to customers and at a few stores, the managers even called the police, though it was clear that no laws were being violated. After a union rep explained that union members have a right to leaflet customers at their own stores, the police left and encouraged the workers to "keep up the good work." Yesterday, employees at several stores filed charges against Kroger for violating federal labor law, which protects union workers who are entitled to exercise their rights without retaliation by their employer. "Kroger is the most successful traditional grocery chain in the country, with billions of dollars in profits, yet it believes it can intimidate and silence the very people who make that success possible – its own workers," said Local 400. Click here for the complete UFCW 400 report. photo: Three shoppers at a store in Hardy, Virginia sign cards supporting Kroger workers; photo courtesy UFCW 400
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