PORTLAND, Ore. — Thousands of Portland Fred Meyer employees returned to work Tuesday after a nearly week-long strike — but without a new contract in hand.
The strike impacted Fred Meyer locations across the Portland metro area, which is 28 stores in total. Around 4,500 Fred Meyer employees, mostly grocery and meat workers, walked off the job.
United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 555, the largest private sector union in Oregon, said they've been pushing for consistent living wages for some time. The union billed it as a "ULP strike" (Unfair Labor Practices), alleging Fred Meyer violated U.S. labor law and the existing contract. The union's membership voted in mid-August to authorize the strike.
“The fight for a fair contract is not over,” said Dan Clay, president of UFCW Local 555. “The community stood with us through the ULP strike, and we know they will do the same until Fred Meyer delivers a contract that lets its employees thrive in the cities where they work."
While the employee strike happened to overlap with Fred Meyer parent company Kroger's merger with Albertsons, the two are not related. Up until recently, UFCW Local 555 was the only grocery worker union to support the merger proposal. But the group rescinded their support before the Federal Trade Commission trial kicked off.
But in light of testimony from a Kroger official that the grocery chain hiked prices for household items, like milk and eggs, UFCW Local 555 is now calling for a boycott from shopping at Fred Meyer until a "fair agreement is reached and Fred Meyer’s admitted price gouging has stopped," said Miles Eshaia, a spokesperson for UFCW Local 555.
"The ULP strike was just the beginning of our members' campaign for a better life," Clay said. "It’s our expectation that Fred Meyer must work within the law, take care of their employees, and stop price gouging our communities.”
KGW reached out to Fred Meyer for comment but has not heard back.
Contract negotiations with Fred Meyer are ongoing, and talks will continue Sept. 11-12, UFCW Local 555 said.
KGW's Anthony Macuk contributed reporting to this article.