Workers at Fred Meyer and QFC locations around the greater Portland area are gearing up for a strike this week, starting at 6 a.m. December 17. The unfair labor practices strike comes in the midst of contract negotiations between Kroger, which owns Fred Meyer and QFC, and United Food and Commercial Workers Local 555, the union that represents workers at Fred Meyer and QFC locations in Oregon and Southwestern Washington.
According to the union, Fred Meyer has refused to provide the union with information it needs to negotiate and process grievances; in particular, the union says the company is withholding information related to compensation, which the union needs to investigate a potential violation of their contract. According to Local 555 spokesperson Miles Eshaia, the union believes nutrition and combination checkout clerks are not being paid adequately under their current contract; when they asked for information related to their wages, the company did not comply with their request. In response, a Fred Meyer spokesperson told the Portland Mercury that the company is negotiating in good faith, and will “continue to be compliant with all labor practice laws and legal requirements.”
However, today, Local 555 announced its intentions to strike Friday; the union claims Fred Meyer and QFC are now violating state law in their recruitment of replacement workers by not telling them about the impending strike. According to ORS 662.215, employers cannot hire professional strikebreakers to replace striking employees, and cannot hire temporary employees to fill in during a work stoppage without disclosing the strike. Fred Meyer job listings posted on LinkedIn within the last 24 hours do not note the strike; the same is true for jobs posted on Recruit.Net. Kroger and Fred Meyer have yet to respond to Eater Portland’s request for comment.
“Fred Meyer should not break the law by tricking a worker into hurting another worker,” said Dan Clay, President of UFCW Local 555, in a press release. “While it may be standard operating procedure for these companies to try to break a strike, they ought to be open and honest with their attempts to harm workers fighting for a better life.”
It’s not the first time Fred Meyer workers have authorized a strike this year: Fred Meyer warehouse workers, represented by Teamsters Local 117, almost instigated a work disruption that would have impacted 180 grocery stores around the Northwest back in July. Fred Meyer reached an agreement with Fred Meyer before going on strike, however.
Eshaia says the union will strike on Friday, unless they reach an agreement on a contract that prohibits strikes (which is unlikely). Local 555 represents 29,000 workers in Oregon, Southwestern Washington, Idaho, and Wyoming, including employees of grocery stores like Albertsons and Safeway.
• UFCW 555 [Official]
• Fred Meyer, QFC Workers Are Prepared to Strike Friday [Merc]
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December 16, 2021 at 06:08AM
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Portland Fred Meyer Workers Are Preparing to Go on Strike Friday - Eater Portland
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