Downey decides against 'hero pay' for grocery workers
DOWNEY – A move to bring “hero pay” into the city for Downey’s grocery and pharmacy workers fell flat on Tuesday, unable to gain enough momentum to even warrant a vote by the city council.
Timing, cost, and fears over litigation were the ultimate killers to the urgency ordinance, which would have required retailers who fell under certain criteria to pay $4 premium pay to employees who made state minimum wage and worked at least two hours in a calendar week for a covered employer within the City of Downey.
The ordinance would have been in effect for 60 days from its adoption or until July 24 later this year.
A city report listed 17 stores that would have been affected by the ordinance, however, was unable to determine the exact financial implications for each establishment. The report did take note that Kroger cited three stores in Los Angeles and two stores in Long Beach that were negatively impacted – and ultimately closed – after the implementation of hero pay in their cities.
With the state’s June 15 opening date just a few weeks away, time was of the essence if there were to be any immediate impact to Downey’s high-risk retail workers. As such, the matter was made an urgency ordinance, requiring support from at least four council members to pass.
However, the item was unable to garner a motion and a second, let alone a super-majority.
Councilman Mario Trujillo said that he was “uncomfortable” voting without numbers indicating the financial impact on some of the stores.
“What I heard is the staff was not able to provide numbers as to what impact this is going to have,” said Trujillo. “That makes me very uncomfortable. I just don’t feel comfortable today voting on something without information.”
Mayor Claudia M. Frometa said that “We are 20 days from a full reopening.”
“Infection rate is down 90%. The whole idea behind this ordinance, and the whole idea we began to talk about this is risk: what is the risk now?,” said Frometa. “We are all vaccinated here. The Covid cases are plunging. Our Downey population is surpassing LA vaccination numbers, we are over that 60% mark as of last week.”
“There’s a level of discomfort that I feel because we want to do the right thing, but at the same time I really want us to be very thoughtful about how we’re approaching this…As we consider policy and ordinances, we really need to consider the overall picture globally.”
She added that there were “other ways to look at helping our community without launching our city into a potential litigation that we don’t need.”
According to staff’s report, several of the cities that have implemented hero pay are currently engaged in pending lawsuits.