Kroger-owned grocery chains are desperately trying to replace striking workers as employees walk off the job at the height of the holiday shopping season

• Fred Meyer and Quality Food Center workers in Oregon walked off the job on Friday in protest of unfair work conditions.
• The Kroger-owned supermarket chains are scrambling to hire replacements during the busy holiday season.

As employees of Kroger-owned Fred Meyer and Quality Food Center grocery stores embark on a week-long strike, the chains are scrambling to replace workers during the busy holiday season.

The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union 555 confirmed on Friday that workers at the two Oregon-based supermarket chains will walk off the job Friday over what it said is unfair labor practices and interference in contract negotiations by Kroger, the nation's largest grocer by revenue. The strike is slated to continue through Christmas Eve, and comes on the heels of ongoing requests to increase wages and working conditions.

In response to the strike, Fred Meyer stores have begun posting signs calling for temporary associates who are "willing to cross a picket line," according to local reports. The signs state that the starting rate for the position is $17 an hour, higher than existing part-time hour wage range of $13.35 to $16.80 listed in recent job postings.

In a statement, Fred Meyer and Quality Food Center said they plan to stay open despite the labor shortage, and called the strike "reckless."

"At a time when we want to invest more than ever in wage increases and affordable health care, the UFCW has chosen disruption and the unknown for our associates and their families," Dennis Gibson, president of Fred Meyer, said in a statement. "We value our associates and thank them for what they do every day for each other and our customers. We are committed to serving our customers, and our stores are open and stocked with fresh food and household essentials."

Fred Meyer employs more than 30,000 workers across 139 stores in the states of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Alaska, while QFC has nearly 6,000 staffers in 62 stores in Washington. As of now, the strikes appear to be largely concentrated in Oregon stores in the cities of Portland, Newberg, Bend, and Klamath Falls, the Stateman Journal reported.

According to the union, which represents nearly 30,000 workers in Oregon and Washington, Kroger has refused to provide information needed for contract negotiation and is hindering efforts to increase wages.

"After nearly two years of breaking labor law to continue paying their employees less, Fred Meyer has upped the ante by systematically ignoring the law and trampling on employee rights," Dan Clay, President of UFCW Local 555 said in a statement. "It's absurd, and abhorrent."

Worker protests first erupted at Fred Meyer in May 2020, after Kroger cut its "hero pay" pandemic hazard bonus, which increased wages by $2 an hour for essential workers on the front lines. The company later offered one-time bonus payments of $400 to full-time employees and $200 for part-time staffers.