In thinking about where to shop in order to support decent treatment of human beings and to boycott the institutionalized abuse Krogrr doles out to its workers, a top-five list came up.
Nice start, but we could use a longer (if possible) list. Whole Foods is laying off 1500 people; Costco isn't a regular retail grocery store; and some of the other players are regional.
Are there other stores that pay living wages and offer liveable schedules?
I've heard lots of positive things about WinCo Foods, if you live near one. From their website:
WinCo Foods is proud to be employee owned
We believe our employees should share in the success of our company in a tangible way. Thats why we created an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) more than 25 years ago. Participating in the ESOP program means employees are part owners of the company and benefit financially from a job well done. In this way, there is direct incentive for employees to work hard and take pride in what they do; that is why our stores are cleaner, our prices lower and our smiles are bigger
...
At WinCo Foods, being an employee owner means having a stable present while building your future. Our employees enjoy industry competitive wages and the long term investment that comes from company ownership.
From what I hear, the starting pay is terrific (around $11.00) and the benefits including health insurance, paid vacation and so on are supposedly pretty good too. I know that every time WinCo opens a new store in my area, Kroger employees scramble to apply. There is another new one coming soon in fact in my area and I know of at least two "key" people in my store are planning on applying and losing either one of them would be a big blow because of the positions they hold and the experience in the grocery industry that they have. I know that the higher ups within my division are concerned - perhaps even scared - of WinCo as a competitor as a meeting I went to around a year ago outlined WinCo as a very real competitor and a threat to Kroger's growth in my division.
Like all companies, do enough digging and I'm sure you'll turn up some dissatisfied employees/former employees, but overall, the attitude toward WinCo from both a customer and employee perspective seems generally pretty positive.
There's a WinCo two cities from where I am. I would visit them more often, since they send out mail ads like once or twice a month. One time I saw them selling oreos for a dollar.