Ella Meloy, a bargaining committee representative for the New Seasons Labor Union, leads picketers outside the store on North Williams Avenue on Nov. 27, 2024, in Portland, Ore. Unionized New Seasons workers went on a one-day strike at 11 Portland-area stores the day before Thanksgiving.
Kyra Buckley / OPB
Unionized workers at 11 Portland-area New Seasons Market stores are on strike Wednesday, typically one of the nation’s busiest grocery shopping days of the year.
The New Seasons Labor Union was formed in 2022 and represents around 1,000 employees in Portland and Beaverton. Two years later, the union and New Seasons leadership are still negotiating the first contract, and continue to disagree on pay increases and benefits.
Earlier this month, union workers overwhelmingly authorized the one-day Unfair Labor Practice strike scheduled for the day before Thanksgiving. Labor unions sometimes use ULP strikes to raise public awareness during bargaining.
Ethan Mark Harrison, online shopping lead at the New Seasons on North Williams Avenue, said they joined the picket line to fight for more dignity at work and better wages. They called New Seasons' last wage offer “unserious” and hope company leaders will bring a reasonable offer to the next negotiation.
Unionized employees on strike outside the Woodstock New Seasons Market in Southeast Portland, Ore., Nov. 27, 2024.
Crystal Ligori / OPB
“We hope that the company will understand that there is a way forward in these negotiations without labor action at their stores,” Harrison, who is bargaining committee co-chair for the union and shop steward at the Williams store, said. “We want the company to come to the table after this strike and provide the respect to us as partners in this bargaining process.”
The next bargaining sessions are scheduled for Dec. 2-3, Harrison said.
A spokesperson from New Seasons said in a statement the company respects its employees’ right to organize, but all stores will remain open during Wednesday’s strike. All locations will be closed Thursday for the holiday.
Union workers are picketing at these locations:
- Arbor Lodge (6400 North Interstate Avenue, Portland)
- Cedar Hills (3495 Southwest Cedar Hills Boulevard, Beaverton)
- Concordia (5320 Northeast 33rd Avenue, Portland)
- Grant Park (3210 Northeast Broadway, Portland)
- Hawthorne (4034 Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard, Portland)
- Sellwood (1214 Southeast Tacoma Street, Portland)
- Seven Corners (1954 Southeast Division Street, Portland)
- Slabtown (2170 Northwest Raleigh Street, Portland)
- University Park (6300 North Lombard Street, Portland)
- Woodstock (4500 Southeast Woodstock Boulevard, Portland)
- Williams (3445 North Williams Avenue, Portland)
Unionized employees on strike outside the Woodstock New Seasons Market in Southeast Portland, Ore., Nov. 27, 2024.
Crystal Ligori / OPB
New Seasons Market is owned by Good Food Holdings company, whose parent company is South Korea’s Emart. But the store traces its roots back to Portland, where the first location opened in 2000, and New Seasons still maintains a regional leadership team.
Unionized workers at another grocery chain with Portland roots used the same Unfair Labor Practice tactic to strike earlier this year. Employees at nearly 30 Fred Meyer stores in the Portland-area went on a nearly weeklong strike over the Labor Day weekend.
The union representing Fred Meyer workers, the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union Local 555, and leaders from Fred Meyer’s parent company Kroger agreed to a new contract in October.
