kroger supermkt
8 august 2021
The Kroger Company announcement August 2 that arch-reactionary Elaine Chao, wife of Republican Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell, had been elected to its board of directors has evoked widespread revulsion and anger.
Chao, Secretary of Transportation under Donald Trump, has a long record in the service of corporate interests, including eight full years as Secretary of Labor in the administration of George W. Bush, where she oversaw the further evisceration of workplace safety. She was the longest-serving Secretary of Labor since Frances Perkins, whose tenure spanned 1933 to 1945 under President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
The election of Chao is a crass example of the intertwining of US corporations and the very government “regulators” who are supposed to monitor them. In announcing the election of Chao, Kroger’s chairman and CEO Rodney McMullen could scarcely contain his enthusiasm.
....“We are pleased to welcome Elaine to Kroger,” he said. “She’s an experienced national and global leader who brings to Kroger’s board deep knowledge of corporate governance, strategic and workforce management, and public-private partnerships as well as extensive experience at the highest levels of US government.” He added ominously, “Kroger’s board is committed to creating value for all of our stakeholders, including our shareholders, customers, associates, and communities.”
In a nod to identity politics, McCullen even tried to suggest that the appointment of Chao, an Asian American woman, was somehow progressive by creating a “diverse” board of directors.
Chao is currently at the center of a scandal involving claims by the Transportation Department that she improperly used her office to aid family members, who run a New York-based shipping business with assets of over $1 billion.
Kroger’s announcement sparked immediate outrage, as thousands took to Twitter opposing the installation of Chao, accompanying their Tweets with the following hashtag, #BoycottKroger. Many noted the provocative nature of the appointment, following close on the heels of the tragic suicide of 19-year Kroger employee Evan Seyfried, whose family says he faced vicious harassment for wearing a face mask from Kroger manager Shannon Frazee.
Criticizing the silence and inaction of the United Food and Commercial Workers, one person wrote on Twitter:
“@UFCW I ask that you investigate why #ShannonFrazee is still employed by @kroger & why your Union Reps failed to stand by #EvanSeyfried who was bullied to death for wearing a mask on the job. #boycottkroger #justiceforevan @justiceforevan #UFCW”
Another tweeted: “Yes, it’s me. I temp changed pic to highlight family’s fight [referring to Evan Seyfried] to hold Kroger accountable for loved one’s death. This plus their attitude re masking/vaccinated?And Elaine Chao? Kroger doesn’t care! #BoycottKroger”
And another: “Elaine Chao, eh? Oh, that reminds me, there’s this smaller, locally-owned grocery I’ve been wondering about. I think I’ll check them out next time I need groceries. Who knows? Might like them better. #BoycottKroger”
While elements around the Democratic Party have attempted to capitalize on anger over Chao’s installation on Kroger’s board, the fact is she was confirmed as Trump’s transportation secretary with overwhelming bipartisan support in a 93-6 vote.
A look at Chao’s political history puts light on the intentions of McMullen and fellow board members.
Throughout her career she has held numerous high-ranking government positions and posts with Fortune 500 companies. This includes as president and CEO of the United Way of America; chair of the Federal Maritime Commission; deputy Maritime administrator; director of the Peace Corps; board of directors for Wells Fargo; high-level positions with Citicorp and Bank of America.
As Peace Corps director in the administration of the senior Bush, Chao signed an agreement with acting Russian Prime Minister Yegor Gaidar in 1992 that established a program in the Russian Federation to promote and facilitate the restoration of capitalism.
One month after Chao’s appointment as labor secretary in February 2001, President Bush and Congress repealed the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Ergonomics Standard. The following month on March 6, 2001 Chao issued a statement justifying the change, cynically claiming, “[I]f we really are going to protect workers, we must put more emphasis than ever before on prevention and compliance assistance—rather than just after-the-fact enforcement.”
In 2003, as more than 11 million workers in the US remained jobless, Chao placed emphasis on the blue-collar job sectors, saying that job-retraining programs could convert white collar workers, such as software developers, into plumbers and carpenters.
In 2005, as part of a crackdown on immigrants, the Bush administration granted the Department of Homeland Security $31 billion in an appropriations bill, wherein $7.5 billion was allocated to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), $90 million to construct new prisons with a capacity of over 20,000 and spare resources to employ an additional 1,000 US-Mexico Border Patrol agents.
In an October 18, 2005 hearing, Chao lent her support to the escalating war against immigrants, saying undocumented immigrants that were already (without legal residence) in the US would need to pay a fee to enter the guest worker program—failing to clarify that it would not represent an amnesty for the undocumented—and obtain a temporary three-year visa. Furthermore, the undocumented, after the first visa application, would be eligible to renew for a second three-year visa, which would be their last but then subject to being forcibly removed from the country.
In addition to the extreme limitations placed on undocumented immigrants, those applying for the three-year visa would need the blessing of an American employer willing to sponsor them and attest that no US citizens would take any job offered by said American employer. “At a minimum, those who come forward will not be offered an automatic pass to citizenship and should be expected to pay a substantial fine or penalty to take part in the temporary program,” said Chao.
There is no record of Chao opposing Trump during his entire term notwithstanding the president’s repeated fascist threats. Later, in an attempt to slightly distance herself from Trump, she resigned her cabinet post on the Monday following the January 6 coup attempt by Trump as part of an effort by some top administration officials to feign concern over the actions of the would-be Führer.
One voice that has been markedly silent on Chao’s election to the Kroger board is the UFCW, which has been silent on the tragedy of Evan Seyfried. The union failed to act on complaints of harassment and even failed to send a representative to Seyfried’s memorial.
In the wake of Seyfried’s death Kroger has only now belatedly made changes to its mask policy, recently recommending customers wear masks as the Delta variant of COVID-19 spreads unchecked.
Thanks to services of the UFCW, which has helped suppress demands for the prioritization of worker safety during pandemic, Kroger sales surged 8.4 percent to $132.5 billion in 2020. The company reported a $2.6 billion profit for the year, up 5.4 percent.
While Kroger awarded McMullen a $22.4 million pay package, the average income for Kroger’s employee fell 8 percent to $24,617. Meanwhile, 3,000 grocery workers employed by Kroger in the state of Arkansas have worked a year without a new contract with the UFCW refusing to call for strike action.
Chao’s appoint underscores what German Marxist Clara Zetkin wrote in 1896 about the Elaine Chaos of her day: “… the liberation struggle of the proletarian woman cannot be similar to the struggle that the bourgeois woman wages against the male of her class. On the contrary, it must be a joint struggle with the male of her class against the entire class of capitalists.”
In the midst of the resurgence of the pandemic and escalating attacks on workers, the call by the World Socialist Web Site and the Socialist Equality Party for the building of independent rank-and-file committees is more urgent than ever. Workers must build their own democratic workplace organizations to defend the right to safe and healthy working conditions and decent compensation. The silence of the UFCW on the appointment of Chao is not accidental. It is a further demonstration of the complete identification of the union apparatus with corporate management.
Chao has been elected to the company's board of directors. "We are pleased to welcome Elaine to Kroger," said Rodney McMullen, Kroger's chairman and CEO. "She's an experienced national and global leader who brings to Kroger's board deep knowledge of corporate governance, strategic and workforce management, and public-private partnerships as ...
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Newsweek has contacted Kroger and Chao for comment. Related Articles. Mask Mandate Live Updates: Target, Kroger Among Businesses Revising Rules Amid COVID Spike; Kroger Shooter Gregory A. Bush ...
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Now that former President Donald Trump's reign is over, the members of his administration have been forced to take their careers in different directions. So, where are the members of the Trump administration now? According to The Intelligencer, many are doing an array of different things; some of which are synonymous with the questionable activities that long-haunted the Trump administration.
Here's where the top Trump White House officials are now:
1. Former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) director and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is still trying to distance himself from the kidnapping of Julian Assange. According to Pompeo, he had nothing to do with it.
Pompeo is adamantly denying any involvement in the plot to kidnap Assange. A report published by Yahoo! News back in September, suggested that Pompeo was livid when he learned Assange divulged U.S. national-security secrets. In fact, the report also claimed that he participated in discussions with members of the Trump administration on how to get retribution.
However, Pompeo is still suggesting the reports are not true. "There's pieces of it that are true," Pompeo said during an appearance on The Megyn Kelly Show. "We tried to protect American information from Julian Assange and WikiLeaks, absolutely, yes … We're not permitted by U.S. law to conduct assassinations. We never acted in a way that was inconsistent with that."
2. Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin has been milking his access to the Secret Service.
Thanks to Trump's order extending the use of the Secret Service to members of his administration, Mnuchin has used the professional perk to his benefit. The publication reports that in his first six months out of office, Mnuchin has racked up the highest Secret Service tab. The Washington Post detailed how Mnuchin managed to rack up more than $150,000 in Secret Service expenses.
The receipts showed that agents spent $114,000 over the six months to rent rooms at a W Hotel in Los Angeles, where Mnuchin has a home. They also followed Mnuchin on three trips to the Middle East, where Mnuchin is reportedly seeking to raise money from sovereign wealth funds for a new venture called Liberty Strategic Capital…
Mnuchin's travels with the Secret Service weren't all business, however. Over the six months, the records show three separate trips to Cabo San Lucas — the Mexican resort, where Mnuchin had also vacationed during Trump's presidency.
To guard Mnuchin during those three trips, the records show, the Secret Service paid $56,000 for hotel rooms and $2,000 to rent golf carts.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Mnuchin is planning to use the $2.5 billion he has raised traveling so he can invest in technology and cybersecurity investments, along with "new forms of content." It remains unclear what Mnuchin specifically describes as "new forms of content" but "many big tech companies are pushing virtual- and augmented-reality hardware and content products and digital gaming."
3. Wilbur Ross is reportedly fantasizing about putting "Trump condos on the moon."
Back in February after the Trump administration transitioned out of the White House, Ross spoke with Bloomberg and shared his upcoming post-government plans; which involve "Trump condos on the moon."
On this particular afternoon, he's sitting in the living room of his 80-year-old home filled with Magrittes and Picassos, sipping a cappuccino, dressed in cashmere sweater, slacks and velvet slippers embroidered with octopuses.
Ironically, it's while ensconced in this paradise of earthly delights that Ross is gearing up to invest in space, among other possibilities. He sees opportunity in extraterrestrial tourism, manufacturing, research and habitation.
Habitation? When asked whether space would be a gold-plated real estate opportunity for Trump, Ross didn't disagree.
"Why not Trump condos on the moon?" he quipped back.
Ross' remarks came just months after the U.S. Commerce Department's inspector general released a scathing report about the former Trump official's behavior. According to The Washington Post, the IG's report "concluded that Ross had made many inaccurate statements to federal officials about his assets before taking office, though he did not willfully violate conflict-of-interest laws."
4. Ben Carson is launching a venture similar to Boy Scouts of America.
After departing Washington, D.C., Ben Carson —the former Housing and Urban Development Secretary— launched an organization called the American Cornerstone Institute.Carson's new think tank reportedly places an emphasis on discovering "commonsense solutions to some of our nation's biggest problems."
The American Cornerstone Institute
youtu.be
Carson has also created the Little Patriots program, which is described as a partisan organization for children. Speaking to The Washington Post, Carson explained the organization's initiative. "It will be something like the Boy Scouts," Carson told the publication. "But heavily exposed to the real history of America.
"You probably notice when ISIS goes into a place, they destroy the history, they destroy the monuments," Carson explained. "History is what gives you identity."
5. Elaine Chao contributed to calls for Kroger to be boycotted.
Chao —wife of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and former transportation secretary— worked for several of the country's top corporations prior to her role with the Trump administration. But Intelligencer reports that "she and other Trump Cabinet alums were having a hard time finding cushy landing spots after exiting the administration. 'The feedback was 'It's too soon,' said one of the headhunters involved in an unsuccessful effort to find companies willing to work with Chao."
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Despite her struggles to re-enter the corporate world, Chao was appointed to Kroger's board of directors. But given her history of abusing her power and position with the government, social media users quickly expressed outrage and urged Kroger to drop the former Trump cabinet member from its board.
6. Alex Azar is reportedly conspiring against his former colleagues.
Former Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar is at odds with many of his former colleagues. In fact, several of them including —former FDA commissioner Stephen Hahn, former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) director Robert Redfield, former Medicare chief Seema Verma, and former White House COVID coordinator Deborah Birx— have reportedly joined forces to prepare their statements regarding the Trump administration's handling of COVID-19.
According to Politico, they've done so out of caution and concern about Azar possibly using them as "scapegoats" to clear themselves.
"I know the way this goes — everyone has a different perspective," Hahn said in an interview. "I wanted to tell what it was that happened and why it happened and the perspective that we had."
In calls and text messages, members of the group have swapped notes, compared recollections, and sent updates on media requests and interview opportunities, four people with knowledge of the matter said …
And in a nod to their individual battles with Azar, some have jokingly referred to the group in private as "AAA," or Alex Azar Anonymous, according to a person in direct contact with multiple members.
From the looks of it, many Trump administration officials are still conducting shady business as they did while in office.