4 Things to Know About Where Contract Negotiations Stand Today

Negotiations stalled this week as UFCW Local 400 again refused to bargain your first contract. Instead, the union is insisting on a modified accretion, which would add stores 524, 542, 554, 577 and 580 to the Richmond-Tidewater contract with negotiated differences. The union’s October 5^th proposal largely repeated its earlier one, including a Heartland Health and Wellness Fund start date that can no longer be met.

Kroger remains focused on reaching the right agreement that delivers meaningful wage increases and continued investment in healthcare and retirement benefits. Here is where discussions stand.

1. Local 400’s position remains largely unchanged. The Union continues to insist that it will not agree to any contract terms unless the Company agrees to its demand for modified accretion.
2. Local 400’s rigid approach has made their own proposal impossible to implement. The union’s October 5 proposal again called for moving associates into the Heartland Health and Welfare Fund by January 1, 2027. However, there is now insufficient time for the Fund to complete the administrative work required for the proposed transition. The company’s proposal accounts for this by moving associates into the Heartland fund by January 1, 2028.
3. One demand is holding up the rest of your contract. Kroger is disappointed that Local 400 continues to push their take-it-or-leave-it precondition on modified accretion. We believe this represents bad-faith bargaining and is preventing meaningful progress.

Think About This: In contract negotiations, it is common for parties to agree to temporarily set aside a contentious issue, make progress on other terms, and then revisit the unresolved issue in light of the overall package. This can open new paths to reaching an agreement through compromise on both sides. Local 400’s all-or-nothing approach is blocking the path to reaching a deal.

4. Your contract should reflect where you are today. We continue to believe that the best path to the right agreement for you is a first contract built on your current wages and benefits. The union disagrees. Even with this disagreement, Kroger has continued listening, proposed alternatives to our original position and made improvements to our proposal to narrow the gap between our starting position and the union’s. That’s how bargaining works.

Where We Go from Here
Kroger is ready to keep bargaining. We have not walked away from the table, and we won’t. Our goal is a first contract that delivers a competitive compensation package.

We are asking Local 400 to set aside its precondition, so both sides can make progress on wages, benefits, and the other terms that matter most to you.

If you agree, we encourage you to ask your union representative to focus on reaching tentative agreements on wages, healthcare and retirement benefits during our November 4^th-5^th bargaining session.