Pierce Exec To Veto Hazard Pay For Grocery Store Workers

PIERCE COUNTY, WA — Pierce County Executive Bruce Dammeier intends to veto a proposal passed by the council to give hazard pay to grocery store workers.

That proposal, Ordinance No. 2021-30s, passed the Pierce County Council with a 4 - 3 vote at their Tuesday afternoon meeting. But just hours after its passage, Dammeier issued a letter signaling his intention to veto the proposal, reading in part:

"It is unclear on what basis the Council is deciding which employers must pay which employees how much.

"Fundamentally, the County should focus on reducing COVID-19 risk instead of driving up costs. If grocery stores are unsafe, then make them safer, not more expensive."

Supporters of the hazard pay proposal argue that grocery store employees deserve extra pay, as they have had to continue to work in person, potentially risking their health, to serve the community during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“For more than a year these workers faced – and continue to face – unprecedented danger by showing up to work every day. Requiring their employers fairly compensate them for their sacrifices is the least we can do,” Councilmember Ryan Mello said in a statement.

As the ordinance elaborates:

"Grocery employees are essential workers performing services that are fundamental to the economy and health of the community during the COVID-19 pandemic. They cannot choose to work from home and must come to work to perform their jobs, which can involve substantial interaction with customers."

The hazard pay ordinance would have only applied to grocery stories with over 10,000 square feet in unincorporated Pierce County. Convenience stores, food marts, farmers’ markets and farm stands would be exempt.

Dammeier's reaction to the ordinance's passage has been met from frustration by United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) 367, a union representing grocery store workers across Pierce County. UFCW Local 367 President Angel Gonzalez says the union had been trying to bring the issue to Dammeier for discussion for some time, only to be stonewalled.

"We emailed him, we called him, we demanded to meet, we asked to meet, we pleaded with him to meet, but he wouldn't do it," Gonzalez said. "He wants to remain insulated from the people he is elected to represent, and instead he chooses to side with corporate interests who are making millions off our backs."

Dammeier's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on those assertions.

Whether the hazard pay ordinance would directly result in increased costs to consumers is also undetermined, critics say. In November, a report by the Brookings institute found that America's top grocers made massive gains during the pandemic, including a 90 percent surge in profits for grocery giant Kroger during the first half of 2020.

Gonzalez argues that Dammeier's stated concern about raising costs to consumers is a smokescreen, and that his real aim is to protect corporate profits at the expense of working people.

"That's what he does, he's a coward who wouldn't listen to worker's demands and pleas to do something that was fair and would bring justice to them," Gonzalez said.

However, there would likely have been some kind of pushback from grocery stores, had the ordinance gone into effect. Seattle and King County each passed their own ordinances granting hazard pay to grocery store employees during the pandemic. Those ordinances were met with resistance. QFC expedited the closure of two Seattle grocery stores, citing the increased costs of pandemic hazard pay. Two grocery groups also filed a lawsuit attempting to halt Seattle's ordinance, though the suit has since been dismissed.

"The stores that were threatened to be closed in Seattle were slated to be closed any way, they just tied them politically to send a shot across the bow of other jurisdictions that if you pass hazard pay, we will close stores in your neighborhoods" Gonzalez said. "That's basically what these corporations are relying on, is fear and intimidation."

Despite Dammeier's intention to veto the legislation, the hazard pay is not officially dead yet. Once Dammeier vetoes any ordinance, it goes back to the council which has 30 days to act on it again. The council would need two-thirds approval to override Dammeier's veto, which would require supporters to turn one of the three dissenting councilmembers, Dave Morell, Hans Zeiger or Amy Cruver. That seems unlikely to happen, as according to Dammeier all three came forward to request his veto.

In the meantime, Dammeier argues the council should instead focus on boosting vaccination rates in grocery store employees.

"The best way to reduce this risk is to get vaccinated," Dammeier writes. "Please encourage people, including grocery store workers, to get their shot now."

As for UFCW Local 367, Gonzalez says their next step is to take the issue to the bargaining table as they prepare to renegotiate their contracts next year:

"We will take this to the bargaining table, we will take this to the streets, we will get justice."