Workers at the Seven Corners New Seasons Market walked off the job for two hours July 3 to protest an end to free coffee, leftover hot food access and flowers for condolences. In January, store management announced an end to what workers claimed were long standing soft benefits of working at the store.

In an unfair labor practice (ULP) charge filed June 18, New Seasons Labor Union said those weren’t just perks that workers cherished, but past practices the company was obliged to bargain over by law. When workers demanded the company bargain over the changes in March, initially management appeared willing to negotiate. But in an email to the union, New Seasons labor relations said no store manager past or present knew about those practices, so the company wouldn’t be bargaining over them.

“This is just one small sample of what’s happening across the company,” said Concordia cheese clerk Ava Robins, New Seasons Labor Union co-chair. “I think everyone [at New Seasons] has witnessed a degradation of our working conditions, our wages, and what our wages can get us.”

The takeaways hurt, but workers’ bigger frustration is the glacial pace of bargaining a first-time union contract. 

The union and New Seasons management have met 21 times since January 2023 to negotiate a first collective bargaining agreement. They meet up to twice a month for a day or two at a time at the Portland English Language Academy. In the meetings, New Seasons — owned since 2019 by a subsidiary of the South Korean company E-mart — is represented by law firm Ogletree-Deakins, in-house counsel Sean Kramer, store human resources, and newly created labor relations manager Bija Young. The union bargaining team consists of two elected representatives from each store, two bargaining co-chairs, as well as attorney Katelyn Oldham.

Seven Corners was the first store to unionize in September 2022 with the newly-formed independent union. Today, workers at 11 out of the 19 New Seasons stores have voted to join New Seasons Labor Union, which now numbers 1,400 workers. 

In 19 months of bargaining, the two parties have tentatively agreed to non-economic issues like seniority, just-cause, and reasonable seating accommodations for cashiers. But the two sides are still far apart on anything that would cost New Seasons money.

“New Seasons used to be an industry leader when it came to wages, and they’re just not anymore,” Janet, a Seven Corners baker who’s worked at New Seasons for nine years, said on the picket line. “I just don’t think they’re listening.”

In 2024, both the union and New Seasons traded assertions of bad faith bargaining, according to unfair labor practice charges filed by both parties with the National Labor Relations Board. There are currently 30 open unfair labor practice charges by the union against the employer, and one from the employer against the union.

New Seasons Market spokespeople declined a request for an interview but in an emailed statement said the company takes pride in its legacy as a progressive and community-focused employer.

“Currently, we are engaged in negotiations with New Seasons Labor Union to finalize a contract,” the company statement said. “While differences are common in bargaining sessions, we remain committed to negotiating in good faith. Our goal is to reach a mutually beneficial contract that serves the interests of both parties.”

Outside the Seven Corners store, with workers picketing at the entrances, the parking lot nearly emptied of customers as management scrambled to keep some registers open inside. After two hours, workers returned to their scheduled shifts. No strikers faced any sort of retaliation by management. 

The next bargaining meeting is set for July 23. If significant movement doesn’t occur soon, union members say they are ready to escalate across the local grocery chain.

“People are ready to take action, bigger actions, more sustained actions,” said Robins. “There’s no amount of begging at the bargaining table that’s going to get us anywhere near where we want to be. It’s going to take much more of this.” 

The 11 unionized locations

• Seven Corners (1954 SE Division St., Portland) 
• Slabtown (2170 NW Raleigh St., Portland)
• Woodstock (4500 SE Woodstock Blvd, Portland)
• Concordia (5320 NE 33rd Ave., Portland)
• Grant Park (3210 NE Broadway St., Portland).
• Arbor Lodge,  (6400 N. Interstate Ave., Portland) 
• Cedar Hills (3495 SW Cedar Hills Blvd., Beaverton)
• Williams (3445 N Williams Ave., Portland)
• Sellwood (1214 SE Tacoma St., Portland)
• University Park (6300 N Lombard St., Portland)
• Hawthorne (4034 SE Hawthorne Blvd., Portland)