PORTLAND, Ore. -- Three of four Teamsters locals here have agreed to new contracts with Fred Meyer Inc.
-owned trucking company that services the firm's Clackamas, Ore., distribution center -- rejected a new contract offer and remained on strike last week.
The nearly three-month-old strike by retail clerks in United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 555 against Albertson's, Fred Meyer, Safeway and several smaller chains here continued last week. After Fred Meyer was selected as the picketers' target, the other chains locked out their clerks as part of a multi-employer bargaining agreement.
Negotiators for industry and management met last Monday for a daylong session. While an industry spokeswoman said the talks were unproductive, a union representative said they were positive. However, no contract issues were resolved.
The three Teamster locals that reached accords with Fred Meyer were Local 206, representing warehouse employees; Local 305, representing bakery and dairy plant drivers and mechanics, and Local 223, representing office workers. The locals represent approximately 1,000 Fred Meyer employees.
Employees in Locals 206 and 305 signed four-year contracts, while members of Local 223 signed a five-year agreement. The 170 truck drivers in Local 162 rejected the company's proposal.