In February 2021, Supermarket workers in Long Beach, Calif. protested for hazard pay. Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images California's essential worker pay was increased and workers were more optimisticLOS ANGELES Tony Campanello is the manager of the Long Beach frozen food section of Ralphs. He has been with Ralphs since he started nearly 44 years ago.He said that he has seen his name and uniform on the front of Ralphs many times over the years.The pandemic struck.Everyone who was able to do so, regardless of the spread of the virus, cleaned their mail and grocery bags with disinfectant. Campanello and his colleagues were not able to do that, as many others who were essential during the shutdown. They continued to work, even though they were in danger of losing their lives.Around the state, signs began appearing praising essential workers and recognizing their sacrifices. Kroger, the corporate giant behind Ralphs, offered its workers a $1 per hour pay increase and a $400 bonus in the early days of the pandemic.This surreal period highlighted a truth activists have been pointing out for years, but it has not made its way into mainstream political discourse: Many of those workers we can't live without are being paid the lowest wages for their so-called essential work.The company hazard pay did not last very long. However, a few California counties extended the practice for a few more months in an experiment. A few cities and counties in California tried to see if a rise in salaries for lower-wage workers would have tangible benefits for their communities and their employers without causing financial ruin.The City Council of Long Beach approved a January ordinance that required grocery stores to pay extra $4 an hour for 120 days. This was a move that would have been impossible in a pre-pandemic world.Union leaders, labor market economists, and businesses agree that mandated hazard pays was initiated late last year. A Brookings Institution report revealed that Kroger and Amazon had reported enormous profits in the first two quarters following the country's shutdown, but that they stopped offering hazard payments voluntarily by June last year.Campanello's extra income from the city ordinance was crucial to his financial success. It helped him build his savings and pay first and last month rent for a new apartment. He had just moved out of a stressful situation that was made more difficult by the booming local housing market. He said that the additional pay helped him feel like grocery workers were valued.Long Beach said, "These guys are up front," and he agreed. Long Beach is a human being.Campanello is one of the many essential workers who have seen their pay rises since the outbreak of the pandemic. These funds come in many sizes and shapes, from $1,000 bonuses to teachers in Georgia to $4 an hour increases for Montana state employees.The pandemic caused Americans to recalculate their value in low-wage industries in a way they haven't seen in many years. While white-collar workers were generally able to remain at home, they also had to cancel vacations and skip meals out to attend Zoom school. However, essential workers faced a different pandemic and realized that their local grocery or pharmacy was vital for the survival of our economy and social system.Michael Tanner, senior fellow at libertarian Cato Institute, stated that clearly the value [low-wage employees] provide, and the value theyre adding services and so forth, was likely higher than previously thought.Many essential workers have found that hazard pay and other pandemic-related increases in pay have been a boon, helping to pay medical bills or save for the future. However, industry groups warn that these policies could make it difficult for smaller employers to stay in business, or even force them to reconsider moving to a city with higher wages.California is the most popular state to have such policies. This year, 37 cities and counties followed Long Beach's lead and passed temporary ordinances that required certain retail and grocery stores to pay their employees an additional $4-5 per hour. Only a few cities, including Seattle have required that employers cover employee pay increases.California's minimum wage of $14 an hour is second in the nation behind Washington, D.C. However, a pay bump of $4 to $5 per hour represents a substantial increase for many low-wage workers, increasing their earnings by up to 35%.California, as well as across the nation, has seen stagnant wages for the lower- and middle-class for decades, despite the rise in economic productivity. According to the California Budget and Policy Center, which is left-leaning, the hourly inflation-adjusted earnings of low-wage workers grew by only 4 percent between 1979 and 2018.Anti-poverty activists and unions have been arguing for years that American workers are not being paid enough to support their families. They have advocated for higher minimum wages and other policies. Businesses have claimed that higher wages would make it more difficult to employ workers.The pandemic was a way to see which side might actually be right. While the results were mixed, it is clear that Campanello's life did improve, even with the short-term increases.Jackie Lopez began to look for work in the grocery sector months after the pandemic. She was frustrated by the fact that many businesses were closing down and the unemployment rate was high.Lopez, a mother of three young children, lives in Huntington Park. Lopez was employed as a part time clerk at El Super, a regional supermarket chain.Lopez stated that she was aware of the risks associated with her new job, but that it was not an option to be without work.She said that I was anxious before I started to work. It was possible that I would run into someone who was sick or didn't want me to follow the rules of six feet distance and masks.Lopez noticed that her senses of taste and smell had diminished during the Covid case outbreak in Los Angeles. She was terrified and ran to have her family tested. Her husband, her parents and their recent visit revealed that she was also infected.Lopez stated that her mother was the only one to experience serious symptoms and ended up in hospital. Lopez said that her mother and her husband, who both work at a grocery shop, couldn't work for two weeks and fell behind in their bills. Although neither she nor her husband were initially eligible for sick-leave, they received it retroactively as a result of a federal law that was passed in March.Lopez was informed about the Los Angeles County hazard pay proposal, which she would soon adopt. The county demanded that grocery stores and retailers give $5 per hour to their employees for 120 days beginning in March.Lopez can still recall the first time she received it on a paycheck. Her husband, who is a Compton resident, didn't receive hazard pay. She said that the extra money in her paycheck helped the family pay their bills and catch up on late credit card payments. They were able to treat their children to dinner out, a trip at Universal Studios and an hour on a whale-watching vessel.She said that it made her feel more at ease knowing that she had some savings so that she could take the children out. It was great.Some workers were not happy with the pay increases. Store managers tried to offset higher salaries in other ways. Lopezs store had 40-hour work weeks for many years and full-time employees complained about being given fewer hours. Part-time workers who had worked 30-hour weeks for Lopezs store began working rotating hours, where they would receive 30 hours each week and 24 the next.Lopez stated that the unpopular schedule was in effect for three weeks before being restored to normal. Lopez said that she isn't sure why the decision was made but that employees were ready to raise the issue with their union.The highest salaries were not realized until June 30, when the Los Angeles County ordinance was repealed.Although her hazard savings have run out, the temporary increase has allowed them to expand their party rental business which they launched in January. The pandemic delayed their dream of starting their own business that they had been planning for years.Lopez was able to purchase a second inflatable bouncehouse and gas for their delivery truck with the extra money she received. She also felt confident that her business would survive even a slow period of time thanks to the money.It was like she had just spoken out of relief, saying, "Alright, just in case we get a whole month worth of bad business, I'm going be able to trust my work check,"Lopez stated that the business is now booked every weekend, despite Covid restrictions being lifted. It was recently able to create balloon arches and other arrangements for Kaiser hospitals. She now wants to be a fixture in the community and perhaps one day become an employer.I would like to be recommended to a large customer. They are local and they come from Huntington Park.The employer's perspective is different on the hazard-pay experiment.According to industry groups, Long Beach's higher wages have hurt workers and businesses. After the cities passed hazard pay, Kroger shut down five stores that were not performing in Long Beach and Los Angeles. Other stores reduced employee hours.Some small independent businesses were forced to go bankrupt by the pay mandate, according to grocery and retail trade groups. This has caused them to reduce costs and in some cases even consider closing down. They predict that larger firms will cut back on charitable donations.Ronald Fong, president and CEO of the California Grocers Association, stated that if you increase your labor costs, you have to reduce your expenses elsewhere.United Food and Commercial Workers organizers, who led the hazard wage fight, claim that industry criticisms are exaggerated. They point out that most grocery stores remain open. Brookings also reported that Kroger's voluntary pay increases amounted only to 87c an hour, while net earnings increased by 90 percent to $2 billion in the first and second quarters.Molly Kinder, a Brookings Institution fellow, stated that some of the most powerful and important companies are those with hugely elevated profits and sometimes enormous cash reserves. They have the potential to do more for their workers.If labor trends are not changing, it might be necessary to change.During the pandemic, hazard pay, voluntary bonus payments, and other labor market shifts reset the expectations for earnings across all income levels, from high-paid tech workers to low-wage clerks. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 9 million jobs remain unfilled.Economists believe that the pandemic has had a long-term effect on workers. They now realize that they are vital and are reluctant to accept lower pay.Tanner stated that employers are in desperate need of employees right now and that the process of finding them could force them to increase wages, especially for those jobs with higher risks than previously thought.
