Tigard, Oregon – Members of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 555, which represents over 35,000 essential workers in Oregon, SW Washington, and Idaho, will be voting to authorize their Union Leadership to call for an unfair labor practice (ULP) strike against Fred Meyer. The call for a ULP strike is in response to multiple ULPs committed by Fred Meyer, a subsidiary of national retail food giant, The Kroger Co. There are approximately 4,500 union represented workers at affected Fred Meyer locations.
“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. In response, we are holding a vote to give the union the authority to call for a ULP strike, in addition to already having filed a Federal lawsuit demanding that Fred Meyer adhere to the contracts they have signed,” said UFCW 555 President Dan Clay.
“We are holding a vote to empower our Union to call a ULP strike if necessary, and have filed a Federal lawsuit to ensure Fred Meyer honors their previous commitments. Our goal is to protect the rights and benefits of our members and uphold fair labor practices. Our members expect and deserve nothing less,” added UFCW 555 Secretary-Treasurer Sandy Humphrey.
At the time of this writing, no date for a ULP strike has been selected. The vote authorizes Local 555 Leadership to call for a ULP strike as they determine is necessary to hold Fred Meyer to the law and commitments it has made.
The votes are set to take place next week, starting on August 13th, and are open to impacted UFCW members working at Fred Meyer stores in the Portland metro area.
Negotiations with Fred Meyer are ongoing and will continue on August 14th and 15th.