No End In Sight For Month-Long Kroger Strike
By Jeff Henson
HNN Writer At-Large
Around 3 a.m. Tuesday, a month after Kroger employees walked out and set up strike camps across three states, the stack of wood is long along Seventh Street, where a security guard peers through the locked front doors of the Kroger store, all but depelted of food, save for canned goods.
 
The wood is used to fill a barrel that keeps striking employees warm during the long nights they sit camped, waiting for some sort of sign that the end is near, that they can go back to work, that they can take care of their loyal customers who are as mystified, they say, about the company's stance as they are.
 
Among the 44 Kroger stores on strike in West Virginia, Ohio and Kentucky, the strike is costing the Cincinnati-based company about $22 million a week, employees say.
 
To put that in terms they can appreciate, employees say the costs to the company during the first 10 days of the strike would pay for health care benefits during the course of a new four-year contract.
 
"I don't have a clue what (the company) is doing," said Tonia Walker, a 24-year employee at the Kroger on Seventh Street at First Avenue who sits on the negotiating committee.
 
"It has shocked me. What we're asking for --- it doesn't make any sense, what they're doing. I do believe they have a plan. They're know where they're going with this."
 
Betsy McCaffrey knows where she has tried to go --- the route of public assistance.
 
The Chesapeake resident and a Kroger employee for 4 years tried to get a medical card for her 11-year-old daughter and food stamps. No dice. Her daughter is a basketball player, and McCaffrey can't bear the thought of something happening to her. She certainly couldn't bear the cost.
 
Employees are having a lot of trouble squeaking by on strike checks that might be a third of their usual weekly pay at the store. Walker has had to drop after-school care for her two daughters. Family members are pitching in. Plus, because her ex-husband is a Kroger employee, she's not receiving any child support.
 
Paying rent is a negotiation: "I tell them I'll bring what I can when I can. So far, it's been OK."
 
So far.
 
Employees are not only hearing complaints from customers, they're also hearing complaints from a lot of overwhelmed employees at other grocery stores, they say. The overflow from Kroger has been tremendous.
 
Employees are also hearing a lot of talk about the impact of Wal-Mart on Kroger from company officials, they say. They believe company officials are using Wal-Mart scare tactics to get health insurance costs down. They also believe Kroger can compete with Wal-Mart. Customer service makes all the difference in the world, they say.
 
"They'll never go under because of Wal-Mart," Walker says. "We have literally had Wal-Mart shoved down our throats. Wal-Mart is a monster for everyone. Kroger can compete with them. The employees take pride in how well the company does."
 
One light moment during the last session of negotiations: union leaders joked they would take something off their proposal if company officials wouldn't mention Wal-Mart.
 
If only it were so simple.
 
Company officials have said their proposal would make sure employees have better health insurance benefits than statewide competitors.
 
For more information about the company, go to www.kroger.com.