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Kroger corporate negotiators told UFCW 1059 on Wednesday they will return to the bargaining table on September 27.

Kroger 1059 members and union stewards are calling it “a win” for their union and, more importantly, themselves.

Overworked, exhausted, and stressed out, Kroger 1059 members exhaled deeply Wednesday night as word spread the standoff had ended since they rejected the last contract vote a week ago, the third time in 45 days they voted down their three-year deal.

These same Kroger 1059 members were telling the Free Press that word was spreading through the stores that union stewards were pressing 1059 leadership – its main office in White Hall – to authorize a strike.

But what made Kroger corporate return to the bargaining table, and not make their last offer its “last, best, and final offer,” is unknown.

United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) 1059 told local Kroger members earlier this week: “To this point, there is no firm commitment from Kroger to return to the bargaining table, but we expect further communications from the Company this week.”

Since this letter, Kroger employees told the Free Press that 1059 has alerted union stewards they may give authorization to strike, which could occur today (Wednesday). UFCW 1059 represents 12,500 Kroger associates in 84 stores. Some are part-time, such as teenagers and those on the autism spectrum.

But there’s the difference – the majority of 1059 members work full-time and are longtime veterans of Kroger, like the 40-year union steward we spoke with, or those who stock our freezers for hours on end, drive a forklift in warehouses, or man the registers eight hours a day.

One thing the pandemic proved is that every community has a far greater dependence on fulltime grocery store workers than was once apparent.

On the Westside of Columbus, Kroger employee “Saundra” arrives at her store at 4am to push an oversized cart as she shops during the next eight hours for others in the community. Since the pandemic, Kroger’s “ClickList” – for those who don’t want to go inside and shop – is booming. “Saundra” makes $14-an-hour with benefits, but benefits that have become more expensive.

“They thought an extra $.15 cents would be enough, but everyone in my store was like “no way,’” said Saundra (not her real name).

For the past three days, Kroger’s United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) 1059 members voted a third time on a new three-year deal. Each contract was endorsed by their own union (UFCW 1059), but the 12,500 Kroger members of 1059 voted “No” each time.

During the third vote, UFCW 1059 added another vote – one to “authorize a strike” – and that passed as well.

If Kroger corporate does not come back to the bargaining table with more, members have told the Free Press they will press UFCW 1059 leadership to greenlight a strike.

Intel Corporation and the State of Ohio sealed their marriage on Friday with the officiant flying in on Air Force One just in time to pronounce the happy couple forever joined at the chip. 

The groom, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger, had thrown a public tantrum in early July, calling off the scheduled ceremony because the bride’s Uncle Sam went on vacation without leaving a credit card number to provide the dowry. He even threatened to elope to Europe with another bride. 

But there was no mention of that hiccup on this sunny September morning in New Albany, Ohio. The couple dozen attendants each gave a speech predicting the most productive marriage ever of any global corporate power and lonely rust belt state. 

Billed as a groundbreaking ceremony, a good deal of ground had been broken before the ceremony began. Earthmovers were lined up around the temporary outdoor seating area, parked in neat rows nearby for aerial cameras to capture, and occasionally paraded behind the speakers, who were each announced by Jerry Revish while the Best Damn Band in the Land played the Ohio State fight song. 

Once again, a trigger-happy Columbus police officer shot and killed an unarmed Black man. Police bodycam footage shows at least four officers and a police dog entering 20-year old Donovan Lewis’ home in the middle of the night August 30 to execute a warrant. Within a few minutes, Officer Ricky Anderson executed Lewis instead. This time it was one out of three police shootings in Columbus in eight days, although the other two victims survived.

“Columbus Police didn’t even attempt to de-escalate or negotiate with Donovan Lewis. Yet another case of an innocent person killed as the result of trigger-happy training. These things are constantly happening for a reason, the mentality and poor judgment of today’s law enforcement training,” said Cynthia Brown, who’s spearheading the effort to end qualified immunity in Ohio.

Qualified immunity protects government employees from civil suits, and arguably has evolved into absolute immunity for police.

Central Ohio rank-and-file Kroger employees, who are also United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) 1059 members, for a second time in a month overwhelmingly voted “No” to a new three-year contract even though the contract had been endorsed by UFCW 1059. 

A 40-year Kroger employee, who is also a UFCW 1059 steward, told the Free Press that membership’s next vote could be a vote “to strike.”

“In my 40 years we have never voted to strike. We have voted ‘No’ on contracts, but I cannot recall a time when we were going to vote to strike,” they said on the condition of anonymity.

The vote was 1,722 “No” to 677 “Yes.” The union steward believes roughly half the membership did not vote, and suggested it wasn’t due entirely to apathy, but because UFCW 1059 only offered four voting locations throughout Columbus, making it difficult for single mothers and those who work outside Franklin County.

Mayoral candidate Joe Motil and long-time advocate for the homeless Rev. Gary Witte are arrested for trespassing at the home of Columbus City Council President Shannon Hardin. Activists set up tents on the lawns of three members of Columbus City Council to protest the sweeps of homeless camps and the failure of City officials to provide affordable housing. 

For the first time since 1975, Columbus City School (CCS) teachers over the weekend voted to strike and now the entire nation is paying attention.

On CNN this morning, its bottom-of-the-screen news ticker is telling the story of how Columbus – considered one of the last American-boom towns with Intel poised to invest billions into the region – can’t provide all of its students air conditioning, among other head-scratching short comings for Ohio’s largest school district.

On Day 1 of the strike teachers were picketing out in front of the Columbus school’s admin buildings at 3700 S. High Street, among many other locations.

Overnight, teachers and supporters took to Reddit and other online platforms seeking solidarity and action from the public.

Israel again preemptively attacked Gaza from August 5 until a ceasefire was brokered by Egypt and the UN effective late on August 7.  The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Occupied Palestinian territory (OHCHR oPt) confirmed a total of 46 Palestinian fatalities, including 16 children.  Additionally, it has been reported that 360 Palestinians were injured including at least 151 children, 58 women and 19 older persons.  The shelling damaged 1,761 housing units, 450 Palestinians have been internally displaced, and 8,500 people have been impacted by the damages. 

Three days of Israeli bombardment in Gaza killed at least 44 Palestinians, including 15 children. Since 2008, Israel has launched four major attacks on the Palestinian territory, killing around 4,000 people – one-quarter of them children.  This doesn’t include Gazans killed and injured by Israeli sniper fire during the Great March of Return (2018-2019).