Posts tagged Grocery workers
King Soopers Employees Hit Union Officials with New Federal Charges for Illegal Strike Fine Threats
September 11, 2025 // This isn’t the first time UFCW Local 7 officials are alleged to have violated federal law. In 2022, after the UFCW ordered a strike, several employees filed charges against Local 7 officials for hitting them with fines despite being non-union members. In two cases where the employees received free legal aid from Foundation staff attorneys, union enforcers backed down from their fines rather than face discipline from the NLRB.
Labor unions are much stronger in Oregon than nationally
September 2, 2025 // Nearly 300,000 Oregon workers belong to a union, according to federal data, about 1 in 6 workers statewide. Union membership rates have fluctuated since the 1980s but have gradually increased over the past two decades.
COLORADO: Safeway and Albertsons union members vote to strike
June 4, 2025 // The ULP strike is protesting against what UFCW Local 7 says are unfair practices, such as refusing to offer retroactive wage increases and benefit contributions, bypassing the union to deal directly with a worker regarding grievances, and covering up an illegal no-poaching agreement with Kroger during the 2022 King Soopers strike.
Union sues King Soopers, claims grocery giant violated strike-ending agreement
April 20, 2025 // The lawsuit claims King Soopers & City Market have not given consideration to union proposals during the negotiations, and put ultimatums forward that would expire in April, months before the 100-day stand-down period runs out.
Fourth Fred Meyer Grocery Employee Hits UFCW Union with Federal Charges
February 6, 2025 // Portland-area Fred Meyer grocery store employee Robert Wendelschafer has filed federal charges against the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) Local 555. The charges state that union officials broke federal law by ignoring his request to resign union membership during a union strike and are unlawfully retaliating against the employee by demanding nearly $1000 from him because he exercised his right to rebuff union boss strike orders and go to work. Robert Wendelschafer has joined co-workers Sandra Harbison, Coyesca Vasquez, and Reegin Schaffer in filing charges against the UFCW with National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Region 19 with free legal aid from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation.
Unionized Grocery Workers Are a Sleeping Giant
February 5, 2025 // A coalition of UFCW Locals 7, 324, 770, and 3000 helped defeat the largest proposed grocery merger in US history between Kroger and Albertsons. Now these locals are collaborating on contract negotiations and sending support to the King Soopers strike in Colorado
Commentary: Biden’s FTC Seeks To Protect Union Workers Through M&A Challenge
March 25, 2024 // For Kroger and Albertsons, the FTC claims that the companies aggressively compete with one another to hire and retain grocery workers, principally through collective bargaining negotiations with unions. The FTC claims that this competition results in higher wages, better benefits, and improved working conditions for employees. The proposed acquisition would eliminate or greatly curtail this competition, threatening the ability of hundreds of thousands of grocery store workers to secure stronger contracts with improved wages and benefits.
Brainerd-area grocery store workers vote to authorize strike in days leading up to Christmas
December 14, 2023 // Roughly 650 grocery workers in the Brainerd area announced their intentions to go on strike in the days leading up to Christmas due to what they call unfair labor practices. Union members of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 663 say they've been without a contract since Dec. 3, and have been subject to "interrogation, surveillance, and intimidation" from their employers.
Trader Joe’s Has Just Formed Its First Union. Here’s What To Know Read More: https://www.tastingtable.com/948263/trader-joes-has-just-formed-its-first-union-heres-what-to-know/?utm_campaign=clip
August 4, 2022 // Workers at the Hadley, Massachusetts, store voted to join Trader Joe's United to improve their health and retirement benefits package, pay rate, and safety concerns in the workplace. The labor group claims that Trader Joe's has reduced its benefits package and pandemic pay rate while weakening store health and safety measures. The group tweeted a letter stating its motivation to negotiate a contract that benefits Trader Joe's employees "instead of the company's bottom line." A spokesperson for the popular grocery chain stated that Trader Joe's offers substantial compensation and benefits packages to employees that are competitive with other top grocer's incentives. Trader Joe's is eager to join the labor group in contract negotiations in order to stave off a domino effect at over 535 other locations, two of which are already discussing unionization.
A grocery worker strike was imminent. Then came a 30-hour bargaining marathon
April 6, 2022 // Ralphs responded Sunday with an equally combative statement, saying, “UFCW locals collected $23 million in membership dues from Ralphs associates, yet if their members choose to walkout, strike pay from the union would be $15 per hour.”