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Labor Laws and Unions: the Kroger Company

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Labor Laws and Unions: The Kroger Company Kroger is a grocery store chain established its first store in 1883 in Cincinnati, Ohio by Barney Kroger who was one of two original owners; he bought out his business partner in 1884 and opened his second store location. In 1901, the Kroger Company began placing bakeries in their grocery stores. In 1955 Kroger acquired Henke and Pillot Stores and turned those stores into part of the chain in 1966. In 1970 Kroger became the first grocer in America to test an electronic scanner. Kroger also pioneered consumer research for its grocery stores. Today Kroger has nearly 2,500 stores in 31 states under 28 different names, along with annual sales of more than $70 billion. Kroger currently ranks as one of America’s largest retailers. The Kroger Company has been operating for over 125 years and continues to be the most recognizable grocery store chain in the United States. (The Kroger Company 2012).
Kroger is a unionized company and its employees are represented by the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW). Unions operate as the middleman between the employer and the employee. “Beliefs about the effects of a union at a person’s own workplace are critical determinants of intentions to vote for or against union representatives” (University of Phoenix, 2012). Currently unions account for 15.7 million workers in the United States, which is equal to one out of eight employees. There are advantages for employees of a unionized organization, such as the collective bargaining agreements that are agreed upon between unions and employers tackle many obstacles that employees face in the workplace which may include mistreatment by managers and supervisors, dissatisfaction with wages and benefits, work shifts, workplace safety, along with giving a voice to employees who might otherwise have a feeling of powerlessness.

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