Stater Bros. Refuses To Pay Workers Same Wage Increases As Ralphs And Albertsons
Company Spends $4 Million on Each Store Remodel
In an attempt to show us how poor they are, Stater Bros. decided to give us a math lesson at our first bargaining session in two months.
Stater Bros. said that our WHOLE proposal would cost $112.1 Million. This may seem like a huge number for someone working in a grocery store, but Stater Bros. is a billion-dollar corporation. Their own website says they make $4 BILLION annually in sales.
Let’s do our own math. $4 billion in sales divided by 12,000 Stater Bros. employees means that each employee brings in $333,333 in sales but Stater Bros.’ math today said each of us cost $74,000 a year. Do that math Stater Bros. We bring in way more money than you’re paying us, and we know we’re worth the money we’re asking for.
What’s worse is that they’re also spending $4 Million on each store remodel. No matter how pretty the store looks, you won’t make any money if there’s no workers in it to serve the customers.
We came back to the bargaining table today with the goal of getting a tentative agreement that we can recommend to you, but Stater Bros. is still refusing to pay the wage increases we all deserve and won’t agree to any of our important language changes to the contract.
We bargain for more than just wages. We need assurances that Stater Bros. will follow the law when ICE comes into our stores. We need to ensure that union work remains union work and the company won’t use subcontractors to diminish our power in the stores. We need a safety committee in our stores to keep us safe on the job. These are important issues that we need in the contract to hold Stater Bros. accountable and make the company one we’re proud to work for.
Right now, we’re not proud to work for Stater Bros. The company continues to break the law, committing unfair labor practices like interrogating workers, surveilling members and retaliating against union supporters. We’re overworked, disrespected, and undervalued. It’s time Stater Bros. steps up and respects the work we do.
Stay tuned. We will send another bargaining update tomorrow with next steps.
NOTE: Friday’s action will now be a BOYCOTT of Stater Bros. Join us this Friday show Stater Bros. our community and our customers stand in solidarity with us and will boycott the company until they do better. RSVP HERE: Friday, August 1, at 11am in Long Beach.
If you have any questions about what’s happening at the table, or anything else, reach out to your Bargaining Committee Member, Steward, or Union Representative.
In solidarity,
Your Grocery Workers Rising Bargaining Committee
LET’S SHOW OUR WORK
Union proposal cost – $112.1 million ($9,341 per employee)
Current payroll cost for Bargaining Unit – $650 million
Current health and welfare cost for Bargaining Unit – $129 million
650 million + 129 million divided by 12,000 = $64,000 + 9341.66 = $74,000 per employee in Bargaining Union
$333,333 sales each year per employee
