PORTLAND, Ore. — Union employees at every Fred Meyer in the Portland metro area went on strike Wednesday, and the relatively sudden announcement may have left Portland shoppers with questions about what's happening.
Although the strike has been in the works for weeks, United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 555 only announced the exact strike dates and times on Tuesday, less than 24 hours before it began. Local 555 is the largest private sector union in Oregon, and represents about 35,000 workers in the Pacific Northwest.
Here are the answers to some of the top questions about the strike:
When and where?
The strike started at 6 a.m. Wednesday and is scheduled to run for a little less than one week, ending at 8 a.m. next Tuesday, Sept. 3, unless the union and Fred Meyer reach a deal to end it sooner.
The strike impacts all Fred Meyer locations across the Portland metro area, which is 28 stores in total, according to UFCW 555 communications coordinator Miles Eshaia. Stores as far out as Gresham and Scappoose are impacted, although not as far south as Salem.
About 4,500 grocery and meat workers are on strike, which includes stockers and cashiers, making up a majority of the workforce. The union's membership voted in mid-August to authorize a strike.
Are Fred Meyer stores still open?
Fred Meyer announced Tuesday that all of the impacted stores would remain open during the strike, and a sign on the door of the Hollywood West location in Northeast Portland stated that the company was conducting on-the-spot interviews to hire temporary workers.
A KGW reporter at the Hollywood West location Wednesday morning observed that the store did open, although apparently later than usual.
Unionized employees began picketing outside multiple stores early Wednesday morning, intending to make it clear to customers that entering the stores means crossing a picket line, and urging them to shop somewhere else for the duration of the strike.
Why is the Fred Meyer strike happening?
Several recent prominent strikes in Portland, including one at Fred Meyer in December 2021, have happened in the midst of contract bargaining, with workers and teachers pushing companies and school districts to offer better terms on issues like pay, benefits and working conditions.
The circumstances are broadly similar in this case — bargaining is underway and UFCW 555 says it's pushing for consistent living wages across Fred Meyer locations — but action is billed as a "ULP strike" (Unfair Labor Practices), primarily aimed at protesting what the union alleges are the company's violations of U.S. labor law and the existing contract.
UFCW 555 is accusing the company of engaging in bad faith bargaining by failing to provide the union's negotiating team with key information for the current round of talks, as well as telling employees that it has offered additional pension funding without yet making any such proposal at the bargaining table.
Does this have to do with the Kroger and Albertsons merger?
No. Fred Meyer parent company Kroger is trying to acquire Albertsons, and the strike happens to overlap with the first week of a federal hearing to evaluate the merger proposal, but UFCW 555's grievances are specific to Fred Meyer and not related to the merger.
In fact, UFCW Local 555 was until recently the only grocery worker union to support the merger proposal. The union withdrew that support earlier this month, but still, the strike is unrelated.
Kroger and Albertsons, the latter of which owns the Safeway grocery store chain, have argued that the merger is necessary to compete with other major grocery industry players like Walmart. But the plan has faced harsh skepticism from local officials and federal regulators amid concerns that it would decrease competition, potentially pushing prices up for consumers.
Is the planned strike at New Seasons on Sunday related to this?
No. New Seasons employees are planning a one-day "warning" strike at 10 unionized Portland-area stores on Sunday, Sept. 1, but their dispute is unrelated to the dispute with Fred Meyer. The overlapping timing of the strikes is a coincidence.
New Seasons is owned by a different parent company and has no relation to Fred Meyer or Kroger. The New Seasons employees aren't represented by UFCW 555 either — their union is an independent organization.