Kroger shop steward wins promotions, raises for members

Employees at a Kroger store now have raises thanks to the power of a union contract and a caring shopsteward. Drema Trent, a UFCW Local 400 shop steward at Kroger #322 in Vinton, VA, won raises for 10 courtesy clerks at her store by enforcing the union contract. In the Roanoke region, courtesy clerks at Kroger are the lowest-paid employees with responsibility for only a limited set of duties, such as bagging groceries and returning shopping carts. So when Trent (left) saw courtesy clerks working the cashiers, she took action. Drema took photos of every clerk working a register and had them sign forms testifying that they were assigned work beyond the scope of their responsibilities. After her Local 400 representative took this evidence to Kroger management, the clerks were promoted and given raises. “It felt really good to enforce the contract and get results for the young men and women involved,” Trent said. “They were really happy about it. And it improved morale on the front end.”

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