DETROIT, MI – Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm pledged during a visit to a Kroger warehouse in Livonia, Michigan, to do whatever was in her power to stop Kroger from sending more jobs out of state to its Delaware, Ohio facility.
Hundreds of workers, who are members of Teamsters Local 337 in Detroit, stayed at the facility after their shift ended to meet the governor, and expressed their concerns as they confront an uncertain future. Granholm assured the workers that she would be there for them, and had already reached out to Kroger President Don McGeorge in an effort to find an equitable solution.
"Your fight is my fight," Granholm said. "We have put tax incentives on the table in an effort to keep your jobs here in Michigan where they belong and Kroger has expressed their willingness to talk. I will fight for your jobs until we find a resolution."
The Livonia facility currently supplies groceries to the 123 Kroger stores in the state of Michigan. The company has cut nearly 120 jobs since June 22 and has indicated it will cut additional positions from the 500-member workforce by the end of this year.
“I’ve been working at Kroger for over 20 years,” said Frank Morreale, a truck driver for Kroger and union steward. “I have been always been loyal to this company. I buy my groceries at Kroger, pay taxes, go to church and send my kids to school in this community—the same community Kroger has profited from for over five decades. I just don’t understand why Kroger can’t show us the same loyalty this community has shown them.”
Founded in 1903, the Teamsters Union represents more than 1.4 million hardworking men and women in the United States and Canada.
