Fred Meyer, QFC grocery worker approves strike
Grocery workers at Fred Meyer and Quality Food Center stores in Oregon have voted in favor authorize a strike for unfair work practices, United Food and Commercial Workers Local 555 said Saturday night.
Workers plan to start strike Friday morning if union leadership and management do not agree on key negotiation issues.
“Fred Meyer and QFC have repeatedly violated their legal obligations to negotiate in good faith with Local 555, with the most obvious example being Fred Meyer̵[ads1]7;s refusal to provide information necessary for the union to negotiate a new agreement and process complaints,” “UFCW Local 555 President Dan Clay said so in a statement. “The way in which these employers have violated national employment law has given grocery workers no choice but to take action.”
Miles Eshaia, a spokesman for the union, said the workers voted to go out after Fred Meyer and QFC closed the union’s attempt to prove that some workers are similarly not paid the hourly wage they are to receive under the current contract. The two sides have been in contract negotiations since July, according to the union.
“It simply came to our notice then [the companies] fails to pay certain departments the right amount, Eshaia told The Oregonian / OregonLive Sunday. “They do not give us the information to prove it, which they are required to do.”
Kroger, who owns Fred Meyer and QFC, did not respond to a request for comment Sunday.
Last month, when negotiations on a new contract stalled, Fred Meyer issued a statement saying: “The company and the union had made progress and reached a preliminary agreement on security, which has been the union’s stated priority.”
“Our goal, as always, is to reach an agreement that provides a solid compensation package with salaries and benefits for our employees while groceries are affordable,” said Fred Meyer President Dennis Gibson in the statement.
Eshaia said on Sunday that 97% of the union’s votes supported a strike for unfair work practices. He would not say the specific number of votes cast or say how many workers would be involved in the potential strike.
A strike with unfair labor practices is different – and often easier to resolve – than the more well-known economic strike for concessions such as wage increases or benefits. Workers on strike with unfair work practices cannot be permanently compensated, according to the National Labor Relations Board.
According to the plan, the union and the companies will continue the negotiations on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
Eshaia said that grocery store workers have had to endure difficult conditions through the pandemic and said that the workers hope they will receive public support if they choose to strike.
“We hope buyers will not cross our border if it goes up,” he said. “We hope society will respect our strike. We will appreciate that. “
– Douglas Perry
dperry@oregonian.com
