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What still mystifies me is how large grocery stores, like Safeway, Albertson's, Kroger, etc can afford to pay 100% medical care for their employees. I was a Safeway employee (and begrudging UFCW member) from 1998-2007, and received 100% paid for medical, dental, vision, and other care merely for working more than 20 hours a month. For family care, employees merely must work more than 30 hours a month.

6 years ago, Safeway's CEO announced they would be requiring preventative care and physicals to cut medical costs: http://www.yalemedlaw.com/2008/11/the-safeway-effect/

After completing college, I've found that the 4 companies I've worked for (mid-level IT for fortune 50 financial/tech companies) claimed they couldn't afford to pay for any medical care. Instead, they reminded us how much compensation they were already providing.

Why are grocery stores able to pay for this when nobody else will?




One word: unions. When all grocery stores are unionized and must pay for this benefit, the costs are simply passed on to consumers.


And each union local (in this case, UFCW) has collective bargaining every couple years to set the rates at which health care contributions must be made on behalf of each employee.

(former actuarial consultant, worked on union health funds)


They're unionized, that's why they do it.


Grocery stores aren't very profitable.


And yet they can somehow pay for 100% medical care when nobody else can?


You should go look up the definition of "profit". It doesn't include salaries and benefits, which are called "salaries" and "benefits".




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