Whole Foods grocery store entrance (Shutterstock)

Whole Foods grocery store entrance (Shutterstock)

King County considers grocery store worker hazard pay for those in unincorporated areas

The King County Metropolitan Council will vote during its next meeting on whether to grant hazard pay to grocery store workers employed by large stores in unincorporated King County.

The ordinance would increase the pay of some grocery store workers by $4 an hour until the pandemic ends. Seattle and Burien have already passed similar ordinances, along with other cities around the country. The council’s Committee of the Whole, which is comprised of the county council members, recommended they pass the ordinance at their meeting next week with a 5-2 vote.

Essential workers have often been required to show up to work over the past year, even as many other workers were allowed to work from home. According to a study from Harvard University, grocery store workers who interact with customers may be five times more likely to contract COVID-19 than their coworkers who do not have to interact with the public, Safety and Health Magazine wrote.

A Safeway employee, who works at a store in White Center, gave comment at the committee meeting. She described how before the pandemic, she lived with her elderly mother to care for her. Due to her job, she had to move out to protect her mother.

“My anxiety has come to a peak, and I have been having to see the doctor more this year,” she said.

United Food and Commercial Workers 21 also voiced its support of the ordinance.

Several grocery stores could be required to provide hazard pay to their employees. The affected businesses would need to have at least 500 employees worldwide, along with at least 10,000 square feet of space, or more than 85,000 square feet with at least one-third of it dedicated to retail grocery sales.

Amendments were adopted to exempt the Skyway Grocery Outlet, which is independently operated, and its closure would create a food desert, where groceries are not easily accessible.


Talk to us

Please share your story tips by emailing editor@kentreporter.com.

To share your opinion for publication, submit a letter through our website https://www.kentreporter.com/submit-letter/. Include your name, address and daytime phone number. (We’ll only publish your name and hometown.) Please keep letters to 300 words or less.

More in Business

t
Education and Workforce Summit set for Kent’s ShoWare Center

Presented by the Seattle Southside Chamber of Commerce

t
Harbor Freight Tools to open at former TOP Food location in Kent

Mayor Dana Ralph gives business updates at Kent Chamber of Commerce luncheon

t
L&I fines Kent contractor in Renton fatal trench collapse last year

Company faces fines of more than $400,000 for safety violations that led to death of Surjit Gill, 36

t
Kent’s Tents and Party Rents owner Bob Schlosser dies at age 67

Didn’t hesitate to donate tables and chairs to local nonprofits for fundraisers

t
NASA selects Kent-based Blue Origin for Mars mission launch contract

New Glenn rocket scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida in late 2024

Bed, Bath & Beyond has closed its store at The Outlet Collection in Auburn after 27 years. ROBERT WHALE, Sound Publishing
t
Airways Brewing in Kent to expand patio at The Beer & Bistro Garden

Heated covering, second kitchen to be completed in June

t
Kent’s Zenovia Harris receives King County’s 2023 Larry Gossett Service Award

Kent Chamber CEO honored for ‘her commitment to social justice and leading with equity’

Employees wear shirts with the big Big Chicken chicken on the back. Photo by Bailey Jo Josie/Sound Publishing.
Bok-bok: Shaquille O’Neal’s Big Chicken opens in Renton

The restaurant had its grand opening Dec. 17.

Nana’s Southern Kitchen will give away free meals on Christmas Day at its Kent and Covington locations. COURTESY FILE PHOTO, Nana’s Southern Kitchen
Nana’s Southern Kitchen to give out free meals on Christmas Day

From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Kent and Covington locations

t
Workers find success in Kent apprenticeship carpenter program

Good pay, lifelong trade skills, enjoyable work sites among the benefits