IDAHO, USA — This article originally appeared in the Idaho Press.
Idaho Fred Meyer workers are not participating in a strike launched Friday in Oregon.
Thousands of Fred Meyer employees and members of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 555, which represents grocery workers in Idaho as well as Oregon, walked off the job Friday, to demand wage increases while working under hazards caused by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
A union representative at the Tigard, Oregon-based union office told the Idaho Press that Idaho workers are not participating in the strike, which began at 6 a.m. Pacific Standard Time Friday, almost a week before Christmas.
United Food and Commercial Workers Local 555 represents Idaho grocery workers at Albertsons and Smith's Food and Drug but not Fred Meyer, according to the union's website.
The strike only affects Portland stores as well as Newberg, Bend and Klamath Falls meat cutters, said Jeffery Temple, spokesman for Fred Meyer, in an email.
The Oregon strike was spurred by hazards caused by the virus and a lack of wage increases for certain workers, according to a union news release. A year-and-a-half ago Fred Meyer stopped offering hazard pay, but "(t)he hazard never ended," the release said.
“While so many were able to stay safely in their own homes, essential grocery workers showed up to work helping feed our communities," said Sandy Humphrey, secretary treasurer for the union, in the release. "These employers should recognize their sacrifice by treating these workers with the basic respect they deserve.”
The strike is scheduled to last a week and will end Dec. 24.
The Fred Meyer grocery chain is owned by the Cincinnati-based Kroger Company. Kroger also owns Smith's Food and Drug.
In a statement to Oregon Public Broadcasting, Fred Meyer leaders said the affected stores will remain open.
“At a time when we want to invest more than ever in wage increases and affordable health care, the UFCW has chosen disruption and the unknown for our associates and their families,” Dennis Gibson, president of Fred Meyer, said in the statement. “We value our associates and thank them for what they do every day for each other and our customers. We are committed to serving our customers, and our stores are open and stocked with fresh food and household essentials.”
This summer another union, Tukwila, Washington-based Teamsters Local 117, which represents Fred Meyer warehouse workers in Idaho, authorized a strike, but the union ultimately reached an agreement with the Kroger-owned grocery chain.
This article originally appeared in the Idaho Press, read more on IdahoPress.com.
Watch more Local News:
See the latest news from around the Treasure Valley and the Gem State in our YouTube playlist:
