Fred Meyer & QFC Agreement Reached With Oregon Workers: Union Approves New Contract

After months of negotiations, workers at grocery chains Fred Meyer and QFC in Oregon and southwest Washington ratified a three-year contract that covers wage increases, stronger health care coverage and dental benefits, and retirement security for 11,000 workers.

Fred Meyer And QFC Reach Agreement With Workers And Union

The United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) Local 555, a labor organization representing the grocery workers issued a news release confirming that Fred Meyer and QFC workers secured an agreement two months after the previous agreement expired that ensures higher wages and better benefits.

Dan Clay, UCFW Local 555’s president, said the agreement will also improve the union’s process to address contract violations. Clay thanked everyone involved for their hard work and dedication and said, “This contract is going to change thousands of lives.”

Although UFCW Local 555 declined to disclose the size of the wage increases or the vote tallies, they described support for the deal as “overwhelming.” A spokesperson for the union, Miles Eshala, said the agreement represents the most significant wage increase ever seen in the grocery industry in the Pacific Northwest.

Fred Meyer‘s parent company, Kroger, raised workers’ wages by one-third over the previous five years before the new agreement.

Fred Meyer President Todd Kammeyer said the new agreement emerged from thoughtful and productive work by the company and union bargaining committees.

Agreement With Albertsons And Safeway Still In Limbo

Following opposition to the sale of Albertsons to Kroger, around 4,500 unionized Fred Meyer employees in the Portland area staged a six-day strike in late August.

The workers’ contract with Albertsons expired at the same time as the previous Fred Meyer agreement and the union has engaged over a new deal for workers at Albertsons and Safeway, who have the same owner.

Eshaia declined to comment on whether the current negotiations with Albertsons and Safeway could deliver a quick deal but said new discussions would be held over how the new agreement with Fred Meyers would apply to the combined company.

He indicated that he doubts Kroger’s deal will ever close given the ongoing legal challenges and political opposition.