ROANOKE (WSLS 10) - After two days of meetings, Kroger and UFCW 400 have reached a tentative agreement.
The United Food & Commercial Workers Local 400 union is fully recommending the agreement for ratification by the 5,100 members working in 41 stores.
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The bargaining representatives for the company and union reached the agreement after two days of negotiations meetings, Monday and Tuesday.
"There are some people that are still fired up, strike is still in their minds. Hopefully it doesn't come to that. Hopefully this contract is good enough and it will be accepted," said Dawn Greenway, a bargaining team member and a lead deli clerk at a Kroger store in Roanoke.
According to Kroger, the agreement provides significant investment by Kroger in higher pay, affordable health care and pension support for associates.
"For months now, I've sat across the table from Kroger executives as they made us many different proposals. Yesterday's offer was by far the best one," said Greenway, in a press release sent out by the union. "It included improvements in all of the areas we were concerned about."
"We can't release details of the latest offer publicly until all of our members have a chance to review it at the next meeting," explained Rick Howell, a Kroger cashier who served on the union's bargaining team.
The proposal will now be voted on by the entire union membership at a meeting on June 8 at the Berglund Center, at which point the details of the company's latest offer will be presented. If employees don't accept the offer, there will be a final vote to initiate a strike.
Kroger Stores Affected:
Kroger #118, Clifton Forge, VA
Kroger #202, Roanoke, VA
Kroger #208, Roanoke, VA
Kroger #209, Roanoke, VA
Kroger #210, Blacksburg, VA
Kroger #215, Radford, VA
Kroger #226, Salem, VA
Kroger #228, Waynesboro, VA
Kroger #239, Charlottesville, VA
Kroger #255, Abingdon, VA
Kroger #261, Johnson City, TN
Kroger #273, Bluewell, WV
Kroger #310, Harrisonburg, VA
Kroger #316, Princeton, WV
Kroger #320, Salem, VA
Kroger #322, Vinton, VA
Kroger #325, Roanoke, VA
Kroger #326, Lynchburg, VA
Kroger #327, Lynchburg, VA
Kroger #328, Kingsport, TN
Kroger #330, Salem, VA
Kroger #334, Charlottesville, VA
Kroger #335, Bristol, VA
Kroger #343, Staunton, VA
Kroger #345, Christiansburg, VA
Kroger #347, Rocky Mountain, VA
Kroger #350, Martinsville, VA
Kroger #359, Charlottesville, VA
Kroger #364, Daleville, VA
Kroger #367, Johnson City, TN
Kroger #375, Roanoke, VA
Kroger #377, Forest, VA
Kroger #391, Roanoke, VA
Kroger #399, Hardy, VA
Kroger #400, Roanoke, VA
Kroger #401, Roanoke, VA
Kroger #402, Blacksburg, VA
Kroger #403, Waynesboro, VA
Kroger #404, Lexington, VA
Kroger #406, Appomatox, VA
Kroger #408, Lynchburg, VA