Poor government policies make inflation. Printing money with no economic growth cannot be absorbed, the spending of the last 120 days has been obscene. That is where half of the trouble lays, not some store clerk. I would not be surprised if the top Kroger executives already gave themselves a bigger raise than everyone on that contract put together. Krogers CEO has a package well over $14 Million, and he is not the only multimillion salary in the organization
Look at housing, fuel, building materials, anything imported, etc, they are raising even faster than the 4 year streak under jimmy carter. The hedge fund heavyweights are betting on hyper inflation. In the over all scheme of things, a dollar an hour raise per year for the grocery workers will be a drop in the bucket. My standard grocery list is at least 20% higher since Christmas and no one got a raise yet.
We cannot blame the workers who are just above poverty wages for inflation. Take example the UAW workers. Direct labor for cars is about 30-35 hours. If the pay was $100/hour that would be $3500. Materials are the same to maybe double. Yet a new truck is $60,000. We forget all the multi million dollar salaries even down to local plant managers. We forget all the golden parachutes where even if a high level guy gets fired he gets 60 million and another 25 million in options. We forget all the luxury benefits that get charged off. Those same guys that are on the high level thievery LOVE to have us blame a poverty level clerk for our grocery prices. Look at lumber, loggers and rough sawmills are making less per board foot than they did in 1980 once you adjust for inflation. And Weyerhauser posted a 685 million quarterly profit on a business unit where they used to average 9 million. If we had 30 more minutes we could look at the Medical industry.
I am happy for the Kroger workers, and as much a I hate paying more, I don't begrudge them a single nickle.
What about all the capital investment in equipment to make those vehicles?