PORTLAND, Ore. — New Seasons Market locations remained open across Portland on Wednesday, but shoppers heading in for last-minute Thanksgiving supplies were greeted by picket lines out front as unionized workers staged a one-day strike to protest what they described as unfair labor practices and inadequate pay offers during contract bargaining.
"We're out here today to inflict some economic damage and tell the company that they need to be thankful for their workers if they want us to come to work," said union member Aspen Heinstze, who works in receiving.
About 1,000 workers across 11 of the company's 21 Portland-area stores have joined the New Seasons Labor Union (NSLU), and all of those shops went on strike Wednesday.
The company told KGW it's keeping the impacted locations open with a mix of non-union employees and some union employees who aren't participating in the strike. Support staff from New Seasons' headquarters were also encouraged to work in stores Wednesday, though the company said that happens every year during holiday rushes.
"We respect the NSLU’s right to engage in this protected activity, which is common during collective bargaining," the company said in part in a statement. "We remain focused on minimizing disruption so we can provide our customers with the service they’ve come to expect from New Seasons Market."
The union has previously called for a holiday season boycott of the grocery chain, and the picketing workers asked arriving customers not to shop at the striking stores on Wednesday, though they didn't physically stop anyone from going in.
"It's a one-day strike," said union steward Maxwell Romprey. "It's easy, you know, there's a lot of places around here that will sell you a turkey, they will sell you whatever you need."
Some would-be customers who spoke to KGW on Wednesday said they had decided to honor the union's request. One shopper, Makena, said she had come looking for radicchio for her Thanksgiving dinner, but planned to go to Trader Joe's instead.
"They asked if I would just not shop there for one day, and I just thought that I would support them because I'm not the workers, so I'll take their stance because they work there," she said. "And I was just going in there for one thing, so I can go down to the other grocery store."
Another shopper, Lexi Franklin, said she supported the workers' right to protest but didn't like being asked not to cross the line.
The union described the strike as a response to unfair labor practices and poor pay offers from the company during contract bargaining, which has been ongoing for almost two years. NSLU announced the strike last week, declaring that the company could avoid it by offering a more meaningful pay increase proposal by Monday.
"The last offer we got was a 25 cent raise to the current pay scale," Romprey said. "Personally I find the bargaining to be pretty insulting on the company’s part so far."
In a news release earlier in the week, New Seasons said its starting wage is $17.19 per hour and the average non-management staff wage is $20.75 per hour, with automatic wage increases every 6 months, though it didn't disclose the size of those increases.
The company also contested the union's unfair labor practice allegations, stating that all prior such claims have been withdrawn or been dismissed and it expects the same for any future ones.
The union's website states that members are seeking a "living wage" of at least $27.04 per hour and cost-of-living adjustments that are tied to inflation, as well as more paid time off, a less-strict attendance policy and just cause contract language that would allow employees to contest the company's actions if they believe they were unfairly fired or disciplined.