The threat of a strike looms as contract negotiations resume this week between grocery giant Kroger and the largest grocery union in Oregon.
United Food and Commercial Workers Local 555 announced over the weekend that its members had approved a strike authorization against Kroger subsidiaries Fred Meyer and Quality Food Centers, or QFC.
The union said a strike, while not inevitable, could begin as soon as Friday morning if the companies don’t remedy what it sees as unfair labor practices.
“Fred Meyer and QFC have repeatedly violated their legal duties to negotiate in good faith with Local 555,” union president Dan Clay said in a weekend statement.
It’s unclear exactly how many workers are poised to walk out.
Of the more than 20,000 grocery workers represented by the union, at least half work for Safeway and Albertsons — not Kroger — according to spokesperson Miles Eshaia. Fred Meyer said it has roughly 10,000 associates in Oregon and southwest Washington who are represented by Local 555.
Many, but not all of them, are affected by the strike authorization, which applies to QFC and Fred Meyer workers in the Portland area, as well as certain Fred Meyer associates who work in Newberg, Bend and Klamath Falls. Those employees’ contracts have expired.
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