Gentrification When New Seasons opened stores in the
North Williams and
St. Johns neighborhoods of Portland, some residents questioned if the stores would contribute to the
gentrification of these historically black and working-class neighborhoods. In an interview with
The Oregonian newspaper in 2015 former head of store development, Jerry Chevasuss said that the grocery store targets neighborhoods in the process of gentrification, and that often the addition of a New Seasons will push rents and home values higher, adding to that process. Some long-time Seattle residents voiced concerns that a planned store in the
Central District, a formerly red-lined, historically black, neighborhood in Seattle currently undergoing rapid gentrification, would cater to new residents and not serve existing communities. Seattle labor organizations and neighborhood groups also objected to a Mercer Island store for similar reasons.
M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust New Seasons Market faced criticism from LGBTQ advocacy groups and the Northwest Accountability Project for its former majority owner Endeavour Capital's financial relationship with the
M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust, one of the investors in the Endeavour Capital fund, with an investment representing less than 1.5% of Endeavour's Fund V, that had a majority ownership stake in New Seasons Market until the company's purchase by Emart in 2020. Activists pointed out the trust's history of donating money to groups with controversial public positions, such as the
Alliance Defending Freedom,
Focus on the Family,
Freedom Foundation, and "
crisis pregnancy centers" throughout the Pacific Northwest. New Seasons Market maintained that the actions of the Murdock Trust had no bearing on the operations of New Seasons Market during that time. In 2017 some New Seasons Market employees joined with the Northwest Accountability Project to petition B Lab for New Seasons Market's B Corp certification to be reviewed due to the company's connection to the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust through Endeavour Capital. Employees cited changes implemented since Endeavour Capital acquired majority ownership as a major impetus for organizing. New Seasons Market faced criticism and two National Labor Relations Board charges alleging illegal retaliation when they fired two employees who had appeared in a union flyer.
New Seasons Labor Union In May 2022, employees at stores in the
Portland metropolitan area began attempts towards seeking
unionization, organizing separately with the newly founded independent New Seasons Labor Union and
UFCW Local 555, New Seasons Market in response, for the second time, hired a lawyer from Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart. New Seasons came under criticism for the move with some commentors noting that the firm previously had experience advising businesses associated with
Donald Trump. The law firm also was previously hired by the local Portland business
Powell's Books during worker unionizations. The Seven Corners location filed with the
National Labor Relations Board under New Seasons Labor Union, and the Orenco Station location filed through the representation of the UFCW. Workers at the Seven Corners location specifically accused New Seasons Market of "sowing distrust" amongst staff and filed
unfair labor practice charges with the
NLRB wherein they claimed the company was engaging in retaliatory measures with managers removing pro-union materials and with CEO Nancy Lebold sending out a letter that workers felt was "coercing employees" to not seek a union, wherein she stated that "a union is unnecessary for staff at a progressive and independent grocer like ours." The company responded by stating they were "committed to collaboration" with workers on decisions to unionize. Workers at the Slabtown in downtown Portland location also filed on August 15. On September 1, 2022, workers represented by the UFCW lost the union election at the Orenco Station store in Hillsboro by a vote of 60 to 37. On September 7, 2022, workers represented by the NSLU won the union election at the Seven Corners store, marking the first ever New Seasons Market to vote to unionize, by a vote of 62 to 15. Just a day later, workers at the Sellwood location represented by the NSLU lost their union election by a vote of 33 to 29. On September 16, 2022, workers under the NSLU at the Woodstock location filed to unionize, and in October 2022 staff represented by the NSLU at the Concordia and Grant Park locations also filed. On October 14, 2022, representatives from the United Food and Commercial Workers filed unfair labor practice complaints with the National Labor Relations Board alleging that New Seasons Market engaged in retaliatory tactics and fired an employee at the Orenco Station location that was involved in unionizing workers. On October 20, 2022, workers at the Slabtown location under the NSLU voted to unionize by a vote of 62–14. On November 15, 2022, workers at the Arbor Lodge location filed to unionize, and by November 28, 2022, over half of all New Seasons Market stores had filed to unionize, with 10 of 19 filing with the National Labor Relations Board, with workers at the Cedar Hills location in
Beaverton, Oregon, filing to unionize under the NSLU on that same day. On December 9, 2022, workers under the NSLU at the Woodstock location voted to unionize by a vote of 80–18, and on December 13, 2022, the Grant Park location voted to unionize by a vote of 72–22, and as of December 2023, 11 locations were unionized. One of the early external organizers to help the New Seasons Labor Union was the organization Jobs with Justice, the founder of which, Mark Medina, formerly worked for
Burgerville and engaged in efforts to unionize Burgerville workers under the
Burgerville Workers Union. On January 13, 2023, it was found by the
National Labor Relations Board that New Seasons Market engaged in unfair labor practices in regard to their attempts to stop union activities at the Orenco Station store. According to a union representative, the company threatened employees based on benefits availability in regard to unionizing. New Seasons Market released a statement disagreeing with the National Labor Relations Board findings. Workers at all 11 stores unionized under the NSLU voted to strike on November 27, 2024, the day before
Thanksgiving, and called for customers to boycott the company until a "fair contract could be reached," citing the 2 years it has taken for a union contract to be negotiated with the company, also accusing the company of proposing "non-starter" ideas during bargaining sessions. Workers pointed to the company proposing to cut wages to $20 an hour for all union workers and cutting health insurance benefits in response to demands for "
living wages" based around $27 per hour. New Seasons Market countered by referencing the three-year period it took for Burgerville workers to reach a contract, releasing a statement saying the company is "committed to finding common ground." The Collective Bargaining Agreement of the New Seasons Labor Union guarantees "
reasonable seating" for cashiers, which is "defined as a seat that permits the safe performance of a task from a seated position." ==Notes==