Downey considers hazard pay for grocery, drug store workers

Councilman Sean Ashton shops at Aldi’s during the grocery store’s grand opening in 2017. (Photo by Alex Dominguez)

DOWNEY – The City Council will continue to explore several options surrounding the potential to bring hero pay – or something similar – into the city.

The idea to bring hero pay for grocery and drug retail workers in the city was first presented by Councilwoman Catherine Alvarez.

According to Alvarez, a hazard pay ordinance would typically require employers to pay $4-$5 extra an hour to their frontline grocery and drug retail employees for 120 days.

According to city staffers, approximately four large retail stores in Downey would be affected, along with nine grocery stores and six retail drug store pharmacies.

These include Albertsons, Aldi, Food for Less, Amapola, Stater Bros., Vallarta, Walmart, two Ralph’s, Grocery Outlet, and two Dollar Trees.

The item came up against immediate resistance from Mayor Claudia M. Frometa, who believed it would be inappropriate to target just one sector.

“People in healthcare dealing with life and death right in front of them…we have to remember that that particular sector did not get hero pay,” said Frometa. “When we consider what other cities have done, I have to bring up from my perspective that while I would like to be able to help everybody, I consider unfair that we would choose a sector versus another that we consider essential, because a lot of people are essential and have been essential during this response.”

Frometa and some of her family members work in the healthcare field.

Frometa also said that “local governments should not interfere in what is already established labor union bargaining process.”

“While I want to do the right thing, I also fear that by us inserting ourselves in an area that really is not up to local governments, we will make a detrimental decision,” said Frometa. “We have seen what other cities have done, but they’re involved in litigation now.”

“We also have to remember that some of those stores have closed…Grocery stores have a very small profit margin, and they sell on volume. Even though it may be for 120 days, what that does to their bottom line, it’s a break it or make it.”

The city has not had any conversations with any of its groceries stores at this time.

According to staffers, there are currently three – Long Beach, Montebello, and Whittier - of the 27 gateway cities who have considered implementing hero pay, although Whittier ultimately declined. Staff also added that there are 16 cities that have passed hero pay that are currently in litigation.

While the city has not been threatened with litigation over the matter as of yet, it did receive a letter from the California Grocers Association and its legal counsel, outlining what they felt were the legal infirmities of hero pay implementation.

There was also discussion that Covid-19 infection rates are not as bad as at the height of the pandemic, and that vaccines are now available.

However, Councilman Sean Ashton voiced the opinion that the council should have done something sooner. His suggestion tied more into minimum wage.

“I would like to see us at least do something, because the other issue that was brought up is we’re kind of at the end of the line, end of the tunnel, the light’s there, hopefully it’s not the train coming at us,” said Ashton. “We’re on the downhill side of this and shame on us for not looking into this earlier when this was more of an issue.”

“I don’t know if 120 days is the right number; maybe something less. Maybe something where it wouldn’t effect employees that were making a certain amount over minimum wage…you have minimum wage workers who are really struggling, and I think that’s something that would really help.”

Mayor Pro Tem Blanca Pacheco offered the idea of using funds from the American Rescue Plan, similar to what the city of Calabasas is currently considering.

“They’re utilizing that money to pay for the employees of the grocery stores,” said Pacheco. “They’re not actually making it a requirement.”

“What they didn’t want is to be involved in any negotiations between the grocery stores and their employees, they didn’t want to get involved in the contractual relationships. Because of that, they opted on not pursuing the hero pay per se in their city.”

As the conversation continued to evolve and expand from hero pay for grocery and drug store workers to minimum wages, the council ultimately decided to ask staff for more information at a future meeting.

The council voted 4-0. Mayor Frometa left for an undisclosed reason and was absent from the final vote.