Northwest Labor Press is an independent union-supported newspaper founded in 1900. Our print version is mailed twice a month to about 45,000 members of over three dozen local unions in Oregon and Southwest Washington. Our online version has been maintained here since 1997.
Tag:
UFCW Local 555
Oregon
Judge blocks Oregon’s cannabis labor neutrality law
Voters backed the November 2024 ballot measure by 56%. But Judge Michael Simon ruled that it violates employers’ First Amendment rights.
Jobs
Albertsons set to close Bridlemile store
A Portland Albertsons will close July 1, resulting in layoffs for workers represented by UFCW Local 555 and Bakers Local 114.
Jobs
UFCW Local 555 fights sale of public hospital to private equity firm
Bay Area Hospital, governed by an elected board, is pursuing a partnership with Quorum Health to fix its dire financial situation.
Oregon
Lawsuit aims to strike down Oregon’s new cannabis labor peace law
Measure 119, sponsored by UFCW Local 555, passed in November with the support of 57% of voters.
Analysis
2024: The rest of the story
We’ve reported over 300 stories in 2024. At year's end, we update readers about what happened since we published some of those stories.
Jobs
Dennis Uniform shuts down nationwide
Founded in Portland in 1920, Dennis Uniform eventually grew to become the largest school uniform supplier in the United States.
Collective bargaining
UFCW 555 reaches agreement with Kroger
The Fred Meyer boycott is over. New contracts covering 11,000 workers will raise wages $4.50 over three years for the most senior workers.
Jobs
Kroger/Albertsons merger on trial
Kroger and Albertsons are the big fish that swallowed up almost all other grocery competitors. Now Kroger proposes to swallow Albertsons.
Collective bargaining
UFCW Local 555 strikes Portland-area Fred Meyer stores
The union is now calling on customers to take part in a general boycott of Fred Meyer.
Collective bargaining
UFCW 555 on strike at Fred Meyer (and now opposes the merger)
Approximately 4,500 grocery and meat workers in the Portland area are on strike through Labor Day weekend.
Oregon
UFCW 555 turns in signatures for cannabis union initiative
It would require cannabis businesses to submit signed labor peace agreements if they want to get or renew a license to do business in Oregon.
Collective bargaining
UFCW Local 555 ends dispute with Kaiser
Five months after Kaiser pharmacy and imaging workers struck in Oregon, UFCW Local 555 says members ratified new four-year agreements.
Union Organizing
Workers reject union at Wyld cannabis gummies
With all but one of 35 eligible workers casting ballots, the vote was 12-22 for United Food and Commercial Workers Local 555.
Jobs
FTC sues to stop Kroger-Albertsons merger
In court filings the antitrust agency says letting the two giants join would harm union grocery workers in particular.
Buying Union
No more union cannabis
Budtenders at the only two unionized cannabis dispensaries in Oregon voted unanimously to leave UFCW Local 555 on Jan. 22 and 23.
Health Care
UFCW Local 555 health trust drops Kaiser, citing wait times
The decision to drop Kaiser Permanente as a health care option for members will cost Kaiser $18 million a year.
Jobs
Decision nears on Kroger-Albertsons merger
If Biden’s FTC approves it, a combination of Kroger and Albertsons would create a near-monopoly. The two of them own 40 grocery chains in all.
Collective bargaining
UFCW Local 555 ends strike at Kaiser
The union is still seeking to put pressure on the company by encouraging patients to drop Kaiser, saying their health care could be at risk.
Politics
UFCW files crop of ballot measures
The grocery union wants repeal of self-service gas, union neutrality at cannabis businesses, and legislative and hospital reforms.
Buying Union
Kaiser Permanente now on AFL-CIO “unfair” lists
With members of UFCW Local 555 on strike, the Oregon AFL-CIO and Northwest Oregon Labor Council have designated Kaiser as an unfair employer.
