Originally published in Labor Today
Fred Meyer workers in the Portland, OR area have begun striking due to multiple unfair labor practices (ULPs) committed by the Fred Meyer Corporation. Employees at 28 Fred Meyer stores in and around Portland began striking at 6 a.m. Wednesday, August 28, and will remain on the picket line until 8 a.m. on Sept. 3.
The United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Union Local 555 represents over 35,000 workers across Oregon, Southwest Washington, and Idaho. About 4,500 of those are Fred Meyer employees. The union workers voted overwhelmingly for a strike sanction on August 13th.
Before the vote, UFCW President Dan Clay slammed Fred Meyer’s Corporate, claiming that, “Fred Meyer continues to violate the law and their commitments made to Local 555. The most outrageous examples include refusing to provide essential information for current negotiations and refusing to process grievances, despite a longstanding history of doing so over the many decades between Fred Meyer and Local 555.”
The strike comes after UFCW Local 555 revoked their endorsement of a corporate merger between Kroger (Fred Meyer’s parent company) and Albertsons due to the flagrant ULPs. UFCW Local 555 was the only UFCW chapter that supported the merger.
In a statement to KOIN 6 News, UFCW Local 555 Communications Coordinator Miles Eshaia said,
“On August 15, Kroger issued a press release, saying that ‘Fred Meyer Delivers on Their Promise to Accelerate Associate Wages.’ For Fred Meyer to say they have delivered on their promise to accelerate associate wages is misleading at best. They have not agreed to any increases other than those negotiated by UFCW 555 as a result of the 1-day strike in 2021. They have a proven track record of not living up to their obligations and are falling short at the bargaining table. We were forced to file a federal lawsuit asking the courts to force Fred Meyer to live up to their commitments in the current contracts with UFCW 555. As a result, we are no longer in support of the Kroger-Albertsons merger for Oregon, Idaho, and Washington.”
Negotiations between the union and Fred Meyer’s corporation are ongoing.
