On August 14 and August 15, your Bargaining Committee met with representatives from Kroger, Fred Meyer and QFC for our 3rd bargaining session.
On August 15, at the same time that Kroger publicly pledged $1 billion in grocery price cuts – doubling its original commitment of $500 million – at our bargaining table your employer failed to address the major wage discrepancies throughout our Union’s area in Oregon and Washington and throughout the departments within our stores. Your employer failed to show an investment in your retirement and in your healthcare benefits.
The employer still has not presented any proposals for Non-Foods, including the newly organized Non-Foods departments in Grants Pass and Springfield, and they still have not presented any proposals for any contracts outside of Portland and Bend.
While our Local was the only Local to publicly support the merger of Kroger and Albertsons, our Local has changed that position as a result of new information as part of the bargaining process discussions over the past two days.
On August 15, Kroger issued a press release, saying that “Fred Meyer Delivers on Their Promise to Accelerate Associate Wages.” The Union responded to this misleading statement: “[Fred Meyer] has 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. In fact, 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.”
Your Union continues to fight for fair wages and a real investment in your retirement and healthcare benefits, along with addressing other issues like a full-time guarantee and an additional wage step for those with significant seniority with the employer.
Your Union also continues to hold the employer accountable for their violations of federal law. To that extent, the Union has been taking Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) strike authorization votes for expired contracts in Portland on August 13, August 14 and August 16. If authorized, your Union would be able to call for a ULP strike. Your Union will update you in the coming days with the outcome of that vote.
Our next bargaining session is on August 19. We will keep you updated after our next bargaining session.