<p><img src="https://static3.businessinsider.com/image/5b116a0b5e48ec28008b4592/gettyimages-185201372.jpg" border="0" alt="Trader Joe's." data-mce-source="Joe Raedle/Getty Images" data-mce-caption="Trader Joe's."></p><p></p><bi-shortcode id="summary-shortcode" data-type="summary-shortcode" class="mceNonEditable" contenteditable="false">Summary List Placement</bi-shortcode><p>Trader Joe's increased its hourly wage for all employees by $2 at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic last year, and raised it another $2 Monday, following a mandate from the Seattle City Council and other lawmakers along the West Coast. </p><p>The temporary $4 total per hour pay raise is a "thank you," for crew members "in recognition of the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/retail-employees-lack-protections-even-after-pandemic-heroics-2020-12">outstanding, inspiring work</a> they do every day, in our stores and communities," the company said on its website. </p><p>Last week, the Seattle City Council <a href="https://www.bakersfield.com/ap/news/trader-joe-s-responds-to-seattle-pay-hike-mandate-by-raising-pay-temporarily-nationwide/article_c8e7804a-b611-5a72-8dbc-9cfdc5dee519.html">joined other cities in California</a> in passing a mandate requiring grocers to give employees a temporary "<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/whole-foods-worker-demands-hazard-pay-covid-benefits-mass-email-2020-12">hazard pay</a>" raise during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Seattle Times reported. The mandate requires a $4 per hour raise for employees. </p><p>"<a href="https://council.seattle.gov/2021/01/25/city-council-passes-mosquedas-hazard-pay-for-grocery-store-workers-bill/">Grocery store workers are sacrificing their health</a> to make sure shelves are stocked," the council wrote in a statement. "But we should not treat grocery store workers as sacrificial, when they are essential to feeding Seattle families and putting food on our tables."</p><p><em><strong>Read more: </strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/the-pandemic-made-grocery-stores-winners-and-department-stores-losers-2020-12'r=nd-sub">Retail saw big winners and losers in 2020. Here's how experts and insiders think the winners can keep winning in 2021and the losers could turn things around.</a></em></p><p>Trader Joe's said the raise would continue throughout the pandemic or until employees are <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-biden-covid-vaccine-goal-2-million-shots-per-day-2021-2">eligible for the vaccine</a>, according to the Seattle Times, which cited a letter from management posted on a staff bulletin board at a Seattle store. The letter also said the company would cancel its midyear raises for the year, which are generally 65 to 75 cents an hour. </p><p>A representative from Trader Joe's wasn't immediately available for comment. </p><p>Trader Joe's, along with other chains such as <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/aldi-trader-joes-dollar-general-pay-employees-covid-vaccine-2021-1-1029987034">Dollar General and Aldi</a>, has already begun offering employees incentives to get the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/when-can-i-get-a-coronavirus-vaccine-timeline-2020-11">COVID-19 vaccine</a>. The grocer said it would offer workers two hours of pay per application of the two-dose vaccines.</p><p>"Throughout the pandemic, we have invested in a comprehensive safety program, and we have voluntarily and continuously rewarded our crew members' work during this unprecedented time," a spokesperson told Insider in an emailed statement after the vaccine incentive announcement.</p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trader-joes-raises-minimum-wage-amid-pandemic-2021-2#comments">Join the conversation about this story »</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/worlds-most-expensive-liquid-thoroughbred-horse-semen-2020-3">Why thoroughbred horse semen is the world's most expensive liquid</a></p>
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