I am in the Dallas area and in Local 540, the meat department. The grocery and others , in Dallas area, are all under Local 1000. We local 540, has a little different insurance that local 1000.
The insurance is all set by a contract negotiation between Kroger and the local union (s) that cover the employees. Our local and about 4 or 5 other local ( could be more but not sure) are all tided into the United Food and Commercial Union south Central health and Welfare trust Fund. The ones that run that fund is hires by both the union and Kroger and they both have an equal share of members on the board of trustees. There are people much smarter that I that tried to set the cost of the health care and that is the Numbers that both sides will try to use to determine the cost of the care to the employees over the length of the contract. If the company and the union properly negotiates enough funds for the health care then it will stay that way for the length of the contract. If there is not enough money placed into the Funds then Kroger will not place any more in it ( during the length of the contract) so future pay raises of reductions in benefits will have to occur until the next contract comes up.
This happens about 5 years ago to local 1000. They had a great contract on paper with big raises and benefits. The actuaries that set the rates did not do their home work and the cost of health care started going up by 30% or more each year. 18 months into their contract they say benefits cut. and almost .50 cents an hour lost in pay. By the end of that contract ( 5 years) they had a very poor insurance and very little in the way of pay raises over the 5 years.
So now before you start claiming it is kroger and the Health care was better before it was them and it was Ralph's, consider this. It has to be negotiated and decided by both sides and that is the toughest part of a contract to learn and deal with. In the past you just knew what health care would cost and it never really went up that much. Now you are in an era where Know one knows how much it is going up and the company is not going to write a blank check to cover everything without knowing a true cost. Hell I would not even do that. Now I will give Kroger credit for our last contract talks on the cost and our health care . They had copies of what all the competition around here was offering or had. What they proposed to us was as good and even better that what every one else was offering or had. In the end they had good numbers and with enough money in the fund, we had little or no problems with our health care costs and program.
Also consider one more thing. If there was no union and the insurance was not negotiated and set for a term of years, then what is to stop any company from passing on the total cost ( 30 % or more per year) to the employees thru high deductibles, less benefits and less pay in your pocket.
Here is something I was always told in a contract talks one time. Lets say the headquarters tells your Division that there is 25 million dollars set for this contract. The Job of the Union is to find that number and get every last penny out of it. The Job of the division people is to spend as little of it as possible so they can use it in other investments as they see fit. which side do you want to set the cost of your health care and what one will pay for it?
No doubt, the main reason i stayed with kroger long after i stopped having hopes of promotions, was the benefits. kroger loves to try and take credit or them, mailing out "your hidden paycheck" letters, to brag about what they do. But if it was up to kroger, 100% of cost would go tio the employees every time our contracts get renewed, it's the biggest battle between kroger and the union.Last time, the union gave a tiny bit, and employess pay a huge, $2.50 a week, for their benefits. and people complained about that ! try to find a policy for $2.50 a week, you'l get laughed at. the union isn,t perfect, but on benefits, it's still batting 97.5% to me
the first time we had to pay for our insurance, it was $4/week (individual; it's more for famalies). I don't mind paying but it's just the fact of knowing that sooner or later it's just going to go up, they never give you anything good in the contract. I know I'll never pay less than $4/week.
Our last contract didn't benefit many people, it gave department backups a $0.50 raise and they added something else but it only affected like 5% of all employees (that's just my rough guess).
I, too, love the little pamphlet showing what they've given us in a given year. Well it may be true, but we've also had to work in lousy conditions (cold in the winter/hot in the summer) lousy wages (New hires make just a little over $1 than I do and I've got several years of service in!!!). what this shows is that you can easily go find another job and be right back to your current pay scale in a short period of time.
the first time we had to pay for our insurance, it was $4/week (individual; it's more for famalies). I don't mind paying but it's just the fact of knowing that sooner or later it's just going to go up, they never give you anything good in the contract. I know I'll never pay less than $4/week.
Our last contract didn't benefit many people, it gave department backups a $0.50 raise and they added something else but it only affected like 5% of all employees (that's just my rough guess).
I, too, love the little pamphlet showing what they've given us in a given year. Well it may be true, but we've also had to work in lousy conditions (cold in the winter/hot in the summer) lousy wages (New hires make just a little over $1 than I do and I've got several years of service in!!!). what this shows is that you can easily go find another job and be right back to your current pay scale in a short period of time.
WE ( in local 540) pay $% for a single $10 for a couple and $15 for a family plan on our insurance.
But remember that it is cheaper for kroger to pay a better rate to backups and department heads than to clerks because of shire numbers alone.
