Safeway won't stock Pictsweet mushrooms 8

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--> --> Safeway won't stock Pictsweet mushrooms SALEM (AP) - For the second time in a month, a major grocery chain has said it will boycott Pictsweet mushrooms in support of union activists. Safeway Inc. said Tuesday it will no longer carry Pictsweet mushrooms at its Oregon and southwest Washington stores. Union organizers with Northwest Treeplanters and Farmworkers United have been pressing for better working conditions at the Pictsweet farms for several months. Fred Meyer Inc., another major grocery chain, said July 3 it would boycott Pictsweet mushrooms at its stores. Fred Meyer, which accounted for 15 percent of the Salem farm's business, joined the boycott after Salem Mayor Mike Swaim pleaded the union's case. Safeway has 113 stores in its Portland division, while Fred Meyer has more than 120 stores in five Western states. Last week, Pictsweet told employees that Fred Meyer's boycott was the primary cause for planned layoffs of about 50 of its 300 to 400 employees. A notice issued to employees stated that job cuts would begin this week, but as of Tuesday no workers had lost their jobs. Officials at Albertson's Inc. have so far rebuffed the union's requests to pull Pictsweet mushrooms. Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing