The following note comes from the Oregon AFL-CIO:
It’s time to show your support for union workers at all Portland-area Fred Meyer stores. Unitede Food & Commercial Workers Local 555 has called a weeklong Unfair Labor Practice strike. The action will begin on Wednesday, August 28th at 6am and go through Tuesday,September 3rd at 8am at all Fred Meyer locations in the Portland Metro area, unless a deal is reached that includes a resolution to the ULPs.
When any worker is struggling for the dignity and respect they deserve on the job, it falls on ALL of us to stand beside them every step of the way. We urge you to head to your local Fred Meyer and hold the line until management does the right thing. Pickets will be held at all locations during the stores’ operating hours.
A bargaining update from Local 555 under date of August 23 reads as follows:
August 23, 2024 7:39 pm
On August 23, your Bargaining Committee met with representatives from Kroger, Fred Meyer and QFC for our 5th bargaining session.
Since our very 1st bargaining session, your Bargaining Committee has made it crystal clear: we are here to bargain for every single Local 555 union-represented employee. That includes everyone in Oregon and Washington, everyone in the Meat, Grocery and Non-Foods contracts and everyone at Fred Meyer and QFC, including the newly organized units in Grants Pass and Springfield.
Up until today, the employer said they were here to bargain only for Portland and Bend, Meat and Grocery contracts, at Fred Meyer and QFC. Today, the employer changed their position – instead of being here to bargain for more of our members, they went back on their word and said they are here to bargain for even less – by putting forward a proposal that now excludes all of QFC, stating they will not bargain QFC until their contracts expire.
The employer’s proposal included yet another step backward: to freeze all new hires who are hired above the bottom step of the apprentice bracket, until they work the hours needed to continue to advance up the wage scale. This means that a new hire could be made to work almost 4 years without seeing a raise.
The employer’s proposal includes absolutely nothing to improve your pension – despite what Todd Kammeyer, President of Fred Meyer, said to you all in his robocall. They say one thing, and then do another. It now makes sense why they have no problem violating your rights under the National Labor Relations Act.
All of this is Kroger spitting in your face. They sent the message loud and clear: they do not care about you, they do not care about our communities, and they do not even care enough to pretend that they do. They have no problem misleading you and going back on their word.
Kroger continues their disrespectful proposal to take the money you need to secure your family’s healthcare to pay for one-time bonuses, and wage increases that leave you well behind grocery workers up and down the West Coast.
Your Bargaining Committee made our outrage very clear: we will not tolerate Kroger going backwards on their deals with us. As a result of their regressive proposal, Local 555 will be filing Unfair Labor Practice charges for bargaining in bad faith. We will continue to take all legal actions to hold them accountable to their commitments and the law.
We will be bargaining with them next week on August 29 and August 30. We will update you all then. If you have any questions in the meantime, please contact your Union Representative.
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