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'Don't Shop Roth's' campaign launches as Canadian-owned grocer bargains with Oregon union

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PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Employees of an Oregon-founded, Canadian-owned grocer are calling on customers to stop shopping from the business amid contract negotiations.

The “Don’t Shop Roth’s” campaign, spearheaded by United Food and Commercial Workers Local 555, urges people to boycott Roth’s Fresh Markets. UFCW Local 555 is currently pushing the chain to pay meat and deli department employees wages that are comparable to what similar workers are earning in nearby chains like Fred Meyer, Safeway and Albertsons, according to the organization’s Communications Director Miles Eshaia.

Roth’s debuted its first store in Silverton in 1962, and the business has since expanded to nine locations statewide. Pattison Food Group, a grocery and drug giant based in British Columbia, acquired the business in 2021.

According to UFCW Local 555, new ownership charges customers more for products that are priced lower at other stores while “refusing to match the wage increases of nearby competitors.”

In a statement, the Roth’s Communication Team said the grocer is still bargaining with workers “in good faith” — after reaching several tentative agreements.

“We have a strong track record of reaching mutually beneficial agreements with our union partners and are confident we will do so again as negotiations continue,” Roth’s added in an email. “Roth’s remains committed to delivering quality groceries at competitive prices to our customers.”

Several billboards in support of the union’s campaign have popped up in Salem. They state “Roth’s Caught Underpaying Americans,” “Canadian-Owned Roth’s Won’t Pay American Workers” and “Lower Pay Higher Prices.”

  • “Don’t Shop Roth’s” campaign billboard (Courtesy UFCW Local 555)
  • "Don't Shop Roth's" campaign billboard
    “Don’t Shop Roth’s” campaign billboard (Courtesy UFCW Local 555)
  • "Don't Shop Roth's" campaign billboard
    “Don’t Shop Roth’s” campaign billboard (Courtesy UFCW Local 555)

“We cannot have another store in the area that is represented under the same contract, receiving the same benefits — just being paid less,” Eshaia said. “That doesn’t make any sense.”

He told KOIN 6 that workers have unanimously authorized a strike, but union leaders have yet to launch one.

Employees at several New Seasons Market locations throughout Portland were the last Oregon grocery workers to launch a strike.

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Jashayla Pettigrew

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