Teamsters in the grocery industry in Washington State are gearing up for a possible labor dispute. More than 1,000 grocery warehouse workers and drivers at Fred Meyer and Safeway will be taking strike authorization votes this weekend. Voting by Teamsters at Fred Meyer will occur throughout the day on Saturday at the company’s distribution center. Unless an acceptable deal is reached with Safeway on the final scheduled date of bargaining on July 15, workers there will vote to authorize a strike at a meeting on Saturday and three meetings on Sunday at the Teamsters Union Hall in Tukwila.
A strike at Fred Meyer or Safeway would lead to major food distribution disruptions at hundreds of grocery stores across the Pacific Northwest. Teamster contracts with Fred Meyer and Safeway are set to expire over the weekend. Once a majority of workers vote to authorize a strike, a labor dispute could occur at any time.
