Human Resources

By Paul Kinney, [email protected]

Common Area Maintenance (CAM) charges are a headache for commercial tenants of all sizes. Unfortunately, overcharges make the management of CAM expenses a major problem for retail tenants. Responding to the CAM overcharge hot button, the National Retail Tenants Association (NRTA) has once again made CAM management a key topic of its education curriculum of its annual conference planned for this September in Orlando.

CINCINNATI — Kroger has named Reuben Shaffer chief diversity officer, effective immediately. Shaffer will report to Kroger's chairman and CEO, David Dillon.

Shaffer, 60, has been serving as the VP retail operations for the Cincinnati/Dayton division. He began his career with Kroger in 1988 and has held various leadership positions in the organization.

New York City -- A Superior Court in Pennsylvania on Friday upheld a $187.6 million class action award against Wal-Mart Stores on allegations that its Pennsylvania employees were not properly compensated for off-the-clock work and missed rest breaks.

A panel said there was sufficient evidence at trial to conclude there had been a breach of contract, unjust enrichment and violations of state labor laws, the Associated Press reported.

New York City -- Local 1-S of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union announced that more than 4,000 union workers at Macy's Manhattan flagship and three other New York locations have voted to strike if a new contract is not reached by midnight on Wednesday.

The other stores are in the Bronx, Queens and Westchester County.

All board members were re-elected by an overwhelmingly large margin, however some shareholders expressed a dislike for Anne Mulcahy as she drew the largest number of negative votes by a wide margin.

Mulcahy is probably best known as CEO of Xerox from 2001 to 2009, and she also served as chairman of the company’s board from 2002 to 2010. She currently chairs the board of trustees of the Save The Children Foundation and serves as a director of The Washington Post Company and Johnson & Johnson. She is a past director of Citigroup.

Macon, Ga. -- Augusta, Ga.-based Hull Storey Gibson Cos. announced that Smok’n Pig BBQ will open a new restaurant at Macon Mall, located in Macon, Ga.

Macon Mall is preparing to launch a major redevelopment and renovation that will add, expand and relocate the tenant mix. The new restaurant will complete construction this fall and employ up to 150 people.
 

New York City -- Wal-Mart Stores will donate as much as $5 million to New York City’s cash-strapped Summer Youth Employment Program, Crain’s New York Business reported. The donation will reportedly save 3,400 jobs.

All of the proposals voted on at Walmart’s shareholders’ meeting last Friday were defeated, but the official tally of results filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission last night revealed one proposal that drew a surprisingly large number of votes.