GASSAWAY, W.Va. — The United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 400 is working to convince Kroger to reverse plans to close one of their smallest stores in Gassaway, W.Va. A rally is set at the store in Braxton County at 5 p.m. Wednesday afternoon. The store is one of 60 stores the company has announced they will close across America.
“This is a decision that Kroger has to make and what we’re doing through our rallies and petitions is making it clear that it’s not just the union that wants to see this store open, it’s the entire community,” said Jonathan Williams, Spokesman for UFCW Local 400.
The company recently announced the closing of those stores for financial reasons. However, Williams and the union maintain the financial benefits which he says the company has described as a “modest long term” benefits will not be worth the cost.
“We just don’t think abandoning these communities is a fair trade off for a merely modest financial benefit,” he added.
The store employs about 50 workers. Previous efforts to shutdown the store were reversed when U.S. Senator Joe Manchin got involved. Manchin managed to convince the corporate entities the store was important to the community and needed to be saved. The nearest Kroger store is 50 miles away. However, that reprieve seems to have only lasted about three years. The company now plans to close the small store on August 22nd.
Williams and the union say they aren’t giving up without a fight. He added, it’s not just a fight from the union workers, but everybody in the community. He said they have petition asking for the store to stay in place and it carries more than 2,000 signature’s from the very small community of Gassaway.
“The community has certainly already rallied to our cause. You know, there’s no guarantee what Kroger will decide here, but if we don’t try to urge them to keep this store open, then it’s guaranteed to close,” he said.