Dive Brief:
- Workers at a Kroger automated warehouse outside Atlanta have voted to join the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the labor organization announced in August.
- Ninety-six percent of the drivers who participated in the vote chose to join Teamsters Local 528.
- The workers at the Georgia facility are set to become the grocer's second fulfillment center employees to unionize with the labor organization.
Dive Insight:
The workers at the Georgia facility are seeking better wages, guaranteed retirement benefits and “secure a strong voice on the job,” the union said.
The Teamsters said they plan to help the drivers secure a “strong” contract. The facility has a unit of 30 drivers.
“We respect our associates right to choose what is best for them. At Kroger, we are committed to continuing to provide a total compensation package that rewards our associates with competitive wages, affordable, industry leading healthcare and retirement benefits for their future,” a Kroger spokesperson said in an email.
The e-commerce facility located in Forest Park, Georgia, opened in February 2022 to provide grocery delivery service in the greater Atlanta area. The facility connects with two “spoke” sites in Birmingham, Alabama, and Nashville and is part of the network of e-commerce warehouses Kroger has developed with Ocado.
In May, drivers at a Kroger automated warehouse near Detroit voted to join the Teamsters, becoming the first of the grocer’s facilities to do so.
The Teamsters, which represents about 22,000 employees at stores, distribution centers and manufacturing plants operated by the grocery giants, said last summer it decided to oppose the proposed merger between Kroger and Albertsons after discussions with the companies “to protect the most basic interests” of workers.
Last December, the Teamsters urged the Federal Trade Commission to reject the grocers’ plan to divest hundreds of stores and other assets to C&S Wholesale Grocers in a bid to assuage antitrust concerns.
