Rep. Tina Kotek, one of the highest ranked members of Oregon's Legislature, will throw her support behind an effort by some New Seasons workers to unionize.

She is scheduled to speak at a pro-union rally Tuesday afternoon. The Portland Democrat's appearance is the first by a politician in the debate.

The rally at the Arbor Lodge store in North Portland is to call for the reinstatement of two former employees who say they were fired for joining the organization movement. Terra Bosart and Adrian Mendoza told The Oregonian/OregonLive that they were retaliated against, which is against federal law, and have filed complaints with the National Labor Relations Board.

Workers also criticize New Seasons' move to hire Cruz & Associates, a consulting firm specializing in labor relations, that President Donald Trump's hotel company hired recently in an attempt to halt union organizing at his Las Vegas hotels.

New Seasons executives deny the retaliation claim.

The unionization effort comes as New Seasons workers say that they are worried about changes to health insurance policies, flexible scheduling and having their voices heard as private investment firm Endeavour Capital makes its imprint on the company.

The Oregonian/OregonLive reported on several employees' sense that this is the beginning of a slippery slope where the company slowly takes away the parts of the job they love the most.

Endeavour bought a stake in New Seasons in 2009, and now owns about 60 percent of the company. Under its leadership, the grocery market chain has expanded to 21 stores and added Washington and California locations. Former Starbucks executive Wendy Collie took over as CEO in 2012.

She has said that workers' concerns are unfounded and that the company, which has touted its progressive values since it was founded, has changed but still treats its workers well.

However, workers point to a point to an updated health insurance policy that increases the number of hours an employee must work to receive benefits. For years, employees only had to work a single shift to receive health benefits.

That was moved to 20 hours, Collie said, to keep in line with other states and federal rules when the chain expanded out of Oregon. Now, it is again increasing to 24 hours.

Kotek aligned with some current and former New Seasons executives during the 2016 debate to raise the state's minimum wage. She cited research from North Star Civic Foundation, which is led by one of New Seasons' founder, Stan Amy, and his wife Christy Eugenis.

New Seasons Market, under Collie, offers a starting wage of $12.50 an hour that is slated to go up to $13 and hour in January. The company supported a higher minimum wage during the statewide debate -- while it cautioned that $15 an hour could be unreachable for rural areas.

-- Molly Harbarger

mharbarger@oregonian.com

503-294-5923

@MollyHarbarger