Albertsons, Walmart, Amazon increase pay amid coronavirus impact
Grocery stores and other retailers have raised employee pay as they work to meet customer demand during the coronavirus pandemic.
Albertsons Cos. said Monday it would be increasing hourly pay by $2 for Nevada grocery workers at Albertsons, Vons and Safeway stores.
President and Chief Executive Vivek Sankaran said employees at its manufacturing plants, distribution centers and stores have been “working tirelessly” to serve customers.
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“In ways that we could not even imagine, overnight, our country changed — and as a result it changed the way our teams conduct business,” Sankaran said in a statement.
United Food and Commercial Workers, which represents 1.3 million workers in grocery, retail, and other industries, said after close talks between Safeway it’s proud of the wage increase.
“We hope that this sends a message to every supermarket, grocery store, and food retail employer — union and non-union — across this country that it is time for every company to recognize the sacrifice America’s food workers are making,” UFCW International President Marc Perrone said in a statement.
Smart & Final also announced Monday it would boost hourly wages for part- and full-time associates by $2.25, starting retroactively on March 9, until April 5. There are eight Smart & Final locations in Nevada, seven of which are in the Las Vegas area.
Other companies such as Walmart and Amazon also have recently increased employee wages.
Walmart temporarily increased wages for entry-level warehouse employees by $2 to $15-$19 an hour until May 25.
Amazon raised overtime pay for its warehouse workers in the U.S. as a surge of online orders have flooded the e-commerce company.
Hourly workers will receive double the overtime pay after 40 hours, up from the current rate of 1.5, until May 9. Last week, Amazon also said it would raise the minimum hourly rate of associates from $15 to $17.
Meanwhile, Target announced last week it would also be raising wages by $2 until at least May 2.
Contact Subrina Hudson at shudson@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0340. Follow @SubrinaH on Twitter.
