Skagit Regional Health - Bargaining Update

Bargaining Team: Marilyn Faber, Union Rep; Cindy Tjaden; Isabel Contreras; Kalisa Dolph; Britney Myers-Fuller; Ashley Price; Briana Hovsepian; Graydon Hingey; Michael Koenig; Annalise Pasillas; Elizabeth Major; Alina Delano; Micheal Schwartz; Daniel Booker (Hospice of the Northwest)

On March 13, 2026, our team met with the Hospital to discuss topics that are viable for our contract campaign. All conversations around these topics were held on multiple sidebars. A sidebar is a discussion between two to three Bargaining Team members (usually the lead negotiators and a small group of their team members). The conversation takes place away from the bargaining table and is off the record. They are often used to clarify questions or share information.

The following topics were covered on those sidebars:

• Clinic Maintenance—we are asking that this classification be created and incorporated into the wage scale.

• Donning and Doffing (D&D)/Grace Period—we have asked for more flexibility around D&D and further clarification of the grace period to avoid situations created by the inability to navigate the current punch-in and out system.

• Interpreters—we have informed the Hospital that we do not want to lose any bargaining-unit positions. Still, we are willing to work with SRH to create greater flexibility around the languages needed for interpretation.

• Credit for current workers—we have identified that some of our coworkers did not receive the proper placement on the wage scale based on their experience. We have asked the Hospital to create a window after ratification for workers to submit evidence and ask for credit recognition.

• Variables—this is a topic where we have been extremely straightforward with the Hospital from day one: the current system must change. We have asked the Hospital to work with us to create a path to minimize the number of variables.

• Social Worker of the Day (Non-Hospice)—we submitted a demand for bargaining on this, and the Hospital confirmed they have stopped this practice. They are finding out more information on the intent.

• Hospice MOU—we are working with the Hospital to incorporate the Hospice Aid and Spiritual Counselors into the existing Hospice Social Worker MOU. In addition, we explained in depth the reason we are asking for parity for these two classifications.

• Rest and Meal Periods—we are working with the Hospital to create an improved system that aligns with current law, specifically regarding the availability of waivers for eight-hour workers and the ability to combine paid breaks with unpaid breaks. We are committed to ensuring that the Hospital follows the law and makes the necessary changes to the current system.

In addition to the topics covered in the sidebars, we turned in our last non-economic set of proposals. At this point, the Employer has all our proposals in their hands. We expect they will return with their counterproposals on the next bargaining day, March 26, 2026.

We are holding nothing back on our side—the only thing holding back the ratification of this contract at this point is the Employer! We are even willing to work late into the night to push this through.

Take Action—Sign the Petition >>

We encourage everyone to stay informed and keep showing your unity in the workplace!

The most important action at this moment is for all of us to sign the Community and Worker petition for competitive wages and safe, stable scheduling. Please take a moment to sign and share with all your coworkers, family, and friends! Our goal is to deliver the petition to the Board of Commissioners this month.

Our next bargaining date is March 26 and will be joined by a mediator for dates in April.

If you have questions or would like to get more involved in organizing a fair contract, please reach out to your Union Rep, Marilyn Faber, at 1-866-210-3000, EXT. 4678.

Oympic Medical Center Pro-Tech - Bargaining Update

Your OMC Pro-Tech Bargaining Team met for the first day of negotiations. Although the session looked different than expected because members of the management team were out sick, your Bargaining Team made the most of the time and stayed focused on the work ahead.

Rather than lose valuable time, the Bargaining Team used the day to work together on a strong and comprehensive proposal package. This gives us the opportunity to come back to the table at our next session ready to present management with clear priorities and thoughtful proposals that reflect the needs and concerns of Pro-Tech workers.

Our Bargaining Team remains committed to pushing forward and making every bargaining day count. We will continue to keep members updated as negotiations move ahead.

If you have questions, reach out to your Bargaining Team.

Bargaining Team: Josh Johnston, Jake Purvis, Sandra Caudill, Hector Pozernick

Olympic Medical Center Home Health - Bargaining Update

Our Bargaining Team had a productive first day at the table, presenting management with a non-economic proposal package and beginning work on economic issues.

Day two looked different than expected because management was out sick. Even so, the Bargaining Team used the time to develop a comprehensive proposal package to present at the next session.

We remain focused, prepared, and committed to moving this process forward. We will continue to keep members updated as bargaining progresses.

If you have questions, please reach out to the Bargaining Team: Justin Parks, Tilly Richards, Danielle Green

Macy's Retail, Macy's Furniture Galleries, and Budget Clearance House - Bargaining Update #1

On Tuesday, March 3, and Wednesday, March 11, our Union Bargaining Team met with management to begin contract negotiations.

At our first session we were joined by a Union member from the Macy's Budget Clearance House (which is part of the Furniture Galleries contract) as management recently announced that they would be closing at the end of March. Since this will result in the layoff of all of the Budget Clearance House workers, we are working to secure benefits like severance pay and a clear system for transfers to other stores, or for workers who would like to re-apply in the future.

Because of this store closure, our Bargaining Team also spent time focusing on the layoff and transfer language within our Retail and Furniture Galleries contracts. Our layoff proposals included:

• Workers who are going to be laid off will be provided a list of all regional job openings and will have preference for positions over any other external hire

• Severance pay—which would be calculated based on our years of service here at Macy's—as well as language which would aim to extend our health care coverage for a few months following a layoff

Unfortunately, but unsurprisingly, management rejected almost all of these proposals for our Union contract and shared their own set of initial proposals, which included nearly doubling the required hours of work for flex colleagues and placing restrictions on workers transferring within Macy's if you have been employed for less than six months or have discipline within the last six months on file.

We responded to management by rejecting their proposals that flex colleagues' hours should be so drastically increased, and that restricting workers from transferring concerned us because the reason for the transfer might be issues with a manager or coworker—making a bad situation worse by denying the request. Also not all discipline meets the just cause standard in our contracts, so denying a transfer would amount to further unjust consequences.

We also made a proposal regarding members' rights to Union representation during investigatory or fact-finding meetings at work. While the right to representation is a core Union benefit that exists in federal law, we have seen more and more of our coworkers be disciplined without having a fact-finding meeting first, as well as a number of situations involving the asset protection team at Macy's keeping our coworkers past the end of their shifts to question them, without Union Reps present! Our proposal included that management:

• Needs to give advance notice if meetings are investigatory

• Must notify us that we have the right to have a Union Rep or Steward with us

• Schedule meetings so that they won't reasonably extend past the end of our shift

• Allow us the opportunity to have a language interpreter with us, so questions can be understood and responded to thoroughly!

Management did not formally respond to this series of proposals by the end of the day on March 11, but we are looking forward to continuing this discussion at our next scheduled bargaining date, March 25, where our Bargaining Team will be presenting management with a few of our wage and commission proposals!

"We're quite early into this process—but we're all excited and determined to win a strong contract!"

— Samantha Wilson, Macy's Bellingham

Grand Central Bakery - Fighting and Winning Protections at the Bargaining Table

Our Union Bargaining Team successfully completed our fourth bargaining session with Grand Central Bakery. We tentatively agreed to many exciting proposals such as:

• Enshrining the rights and protections of our transgender coworkers

• Protecting our coworkers from discrimination and harassment

• Creating an alternative space for communication with management through a Labor-Management Committee

• And so many more!

We feel great about the progress we've made on our non-economic articles and hope to see great progress in our future economic proposals. Our next bargaining dates are March 16 and March 17 in-person at our Union Hall in Des Moines, WA.

We want to hear your voice! Have thoughts, opinions, or questions about bargaining? Join us at our next Union meeting on Wednesday, March 18 at 6pm via Zoom. You can also talk to anyone on the Bargaining Team, CAT team, or reach out to our Union Rep, Allison Hanley at 206-436-6586. You can also see updates about our progress on our Union Instagram @gcb.union!

Next Meeting:
Wednesday, March 18
6pm via Zoom

Grand Central Bakery Bargaining Update

Grand Central Bakery
Bargaining Update—Three Days and Many TAs!

Our Union Bargaining Team met with Grand Central Bakery for three productive days of bargaining. Two days were spent in-person at our Union Hall in Des Moines and one session was spent virtually. Together we were able to secure many tentative agreements including union recognition, union security, successorship language, union access, new employee orientation, and protecting the rights of union stewards. The bargaining team was excited to present articles on protections for transgender workers, seniority and layoff language, and many more! 

We look forward to meeting with the employer again on Monday, March 9. Reach out to your Bargaining Team: Amanda, Oliver, Fianna, Amelia, CAT team: Luke, Emi, or your union rep, Allison Hanley, for more information!

What's Next
Join us at our next Contract Action Team Meeting!

Wednesday, March 11 at 6pm
Join Zoom Meeting >>
Meeting ID: 899 8866 3719
Passcode: 593785

Covington Medical Center Service, Technical, and RN - Bargaining Update Session #11, February 26

As we are working to move some clinic workers into the hospital contract, we have had to expand our bargaining to include people who currently fall under the clinic contract. The reason for this move is that several departments are operating under the hospital license, and it was determined they should be under the applicable hospital contract. This is beneficial to all members because we can bargain some of the more favorable terms from the clinic contract into the hospital contracts. We are working diligently to make sure that the affected clinic workers do not lose any rights or benefits by moving contracts, while strengthening the hospital contracts at the same time.

Bargaining on Thursday, February 26 felt productive. We received the Employer's response at 9:35am and worked the rest of the day to come back with responses. As mentioned previously, the clinic contract differs from the hospital contract, and we made sure to capture the terms (including premiums) that we wanted to carry over. At the end of the day, we left everything in their court and are awaiting responses on our next bargaining day: March 13.

It's good to see buttons and stickers popping up everywhere around the hospital! If you don't have yours yet, please see a Bargaining Team member or your Union Rep.

Next Contract Action Team (CAT) Meeting

Thursday, March 19: Three Options

• 6am Zoom

• 11am - 2pm in-person: Conference Room 2 (third floor of the clinic side)

• 6pm Zoom

Come visit with your Rep, Penny, and get updates on how you can support your Bargaining Team and win a fair contract!

Skagit Regional Health and Cascade Valley Hospital - Bargaining Update: Continuing the Fight for a Fair Contract

Over the last six months, your Bargaining Teams have continued working hard to secure a comprehensive contract and dignified monetary compensation for all your work and commitment. They have faced numerous hurdles, including negativity from the Employer, which has led to back-to-back meetings to expedite the process. The Employer has been unwilling to find common ground on topics that your Bargaining Teams have identified as crucial for the well-being of every worker at Skagit Regional Health. An aggressive Employer wants to take away privileges and practices that have endured for years. An Employer who is short-sighted to workers' needs and continues making decisions that affect workers' personal life stability. Your Bargaining Teams are still standing strong and even more energized to escalate this fight.
 

Last week, we presented all the research we spent almost 100 hours on collectively to the Employer, as requested. The Employer assured us that the information we presented shed light on the need to consider and review their market proposal and that he would get back to us last week. Last Thursday, when we advised that we are still waiting for their response as changes were expected, the Employer's attorney said, "That is unlikely. We will review, but our proposal is not likely to change." The Employer promised to review and respond in good faith but threw that away.

One of your Bargaining Team members expressed the following:

"After the Employer's recent email and yesterday's bargaining session, negotiations remain ongoing, and nothing is final. The Employer indicated they are unlikely to include the market research we provided. We know many of our members are struggling, and we are bargaining with that reality front and center. We remain committed to securing a contract that delivers real economic stability. Our unity is our power."

While we are ready to return to the table on the 13th, 26th, and 27th (CVH), it is time for us to show SRH our collective power. As Ashley P. (Bargaining Team and UFCW 3000 executive member) stated:

"We stand firm in our economics because fair pay isn't a request—it's what we deserve."

Let's make some noise about what we deserve.

Graydon H. (Bargaining Team member) reminds us, with his words, that we are still hungry and eager:

"A strong contract isn't rushed—it is built with time, unity, and unwavering determination."

Skagit Regional Health Bargaining Team: Marilyn Faber, Union Rep; Celia Ponce-Sanchez, Union Rep; Kendra Valdez; Cindy Tjaden; Isabel Contreras; Kalisa Dolph; Britney Myers-Fuller; Ashley Price; Briana Hovsepian; Graydon Hingey; Michael Koenig; Annalise Pasillas; Elizabeth Major; Alina Delano; Micheal Schwartz; Daniel Booker, Hospice of the Northwest; Cesar R Quiles-Borrero, Negotiator

Cascade Valley Hospital Bargaining Team: Bruce Le, Union Rep; Tia Hafner; Carl Ramirez; Calley Woodworth; Rana Rennels; Cesar R Quiles-Borrero, Negotiator

If you have questions or would like to get more involved in organizing a fair contract, please reach out to your Skagit Regional Health Union Rep, Marilyn Faber, at 1-866-210-3000, EXT. 4678 or Cascade Valley Hospital Union Rep, Bruce Le, at 1-866-210-3000, EXT. 6614.