Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, November 18, 1994 TAG: 9411180088
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A-19 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: GREG EDWARDS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The four-year agreement is the first national master contract in the grocery industry. It covers about 3,800 workers and was passed by better than a 2-1 margin.
About 300 Teamsters are employed at the Kroger distribution center off U.S. 460 west of Salem.
The union has been working since 1963 on a master contract with supermarket operators.
Before the agreement was reached, all of the Teamster local unions at Kroger distribution centers negotiated separately on all but a few issues. Now each local union will negotiate a local contract supplement to cover wages and issues of local concern.
But the contract and local supplements will have the same expiration dates, similar to agreements the Teamsters have with other major companies such as United Parcel Service. Previously, local contracts expired at different times.
With all locals able to strike at the same time, the union says it will have more clout with the company. Teamsters General President Ron Carey said the contract gives union members at Kroger better job security and three pension increases. It also provides a $15,000 tax-free bonus to those retiring between January 1998 and the contract's expiration date.
The agreement standardizes employee health-care coverage with that of Kroger managers but with a lower co-payment for Teamsters, the union said.
Teamsters voted by mail on the contract, from Oct. 28 until Thursday. The contract covers members at warehouses in Atlanta; Charleston, W.Va.; Cincinnati; Columbus, Ohio; Dallas; Detroit; Fort Wayne, Ind.; Houston; Indianapolis; Little Rock, Ark.; Louisville, Ky.; Memphis and Nashville, Tenn. and Peoria, Ill., as well as Roanoke County.
by CNB