PORTLAND, Ore. -- Negotiators here reported some progress last week in talks to settle the nearly three-month-old labor dispute involving retail clerks in United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 555 and a host of local retail operators. Jill Eiland, a spokeswoman for Food Employers, which represents management, said five days of talks earlier this month had resulted in "slow and painful progress, with some of the bigger issues being tackled, although no hurdles have been cleared." Rick Sawyer, director of membership services for Local 555, told SN the two sides "have been chipping away at our differences in bits and pieces" and said it is possible that an end to the labor dispute could be forthcoming. The dispute began Aug. 18 when the union selected Fred Meyer Inc. as its strike target and set up pickets at 26 stores here. Because Fred Meyer is part of a multiemployer bargaining unit, which considers a strike against one a strike against all, the union was locked out of Albertson's, Safeway, Kienow's, IGA, Thriftway and smaller operators.
