The following is the press release that was sent out at approximately 10 am on Sept 22, 2019.

Retail Grocery Workers’ Union Calls For Boycott of Fred Meyer Stores where employees are working without a contract

Tigard, Ore – Following fifteen+ months of tense labor negotiations in which Fred Meyer/Kroger continually refused to respond to reasonable pleas to fix gross inequity in pay and thereafter committed unfair labor practices to coerce employees to settle for less, United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 555 is calling on consumers to boycott, effective immediately, all Fred Meyer departments in Oregon and SW Washington where employees are now working without a labor contract. (Click here for departmental details.)

As Jeff Anderson, Secretary-Treasurer of Local 555 states, “If Fred Meyer won’t listen to workers’ voices, perhaps they will listen to the sound of departments devoid of shoppers.”

The Union’s call for a consumer boycott is the first economic action taken by the Union in response to Fred Meyer’s unfair labor practices, as well as an effort to highlight Fred Meyer’s refusal to address livable wages for its workers, and its disinterest in closing the gender equity gap by more than a dime a year.

Until Fred Meyer ceases its unfair practices against its unionized employees and reaches reasonable contract settlements with their Union, UFCW Local 555 asks shoppers to actively demonstrate their support for fair negotiations and for livable wages and gender equity in their communities by boycotting the following Fred Meyer store departments https://www.ufcw555.org/boycott/.

To quote President Dan Clay, “We call on our communities to make sure Kroger and Fred Meyer understand our Northwest values of decency, dignity, and respect by shopping elsewhere until our members are treated in accordance with those values.”

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Next steps and further updates on the boycott to follow on September 28th, after completion of the next round of bargaining scheduled for September 26th and 27th.