UFCW 21 has over 1,000 Stewards at work locations all across the state. While we cannot award each one, we want to showcase some of the most active members who enforce our contracts, educate fellow members (especially new ones), coordinate actions during and between contract negotiations, take leadership on political work, and so much more.

Rising Together Award

This year’s “Rising Together Award” goes to the MultiCare Bargaining Team who helped lead the historic negotiation for the better part of 2015. Together, we won the right for all MultiCare workers to have a fair process to join the union, improved wages, protected our retirement and health care, and much more. This collective effort was supported by strong community partnerships. Within weeks of the ratified agreement, MultiCare workers at Covington voted to join our union.

Gregg Barney
Ryan Boyd
Patricia Brown
Tina Garcia
Christian Hamm
Garry Hawkins
Bobbie Hurst
Diane McCoy

Erin McCoy
Karen Dixon-Ezike
Karen Linse
Kari Kienholz
Betty Robertson
LeiAnn Wolf

Pam Milan
Jose Moreno
Kris Pair
Karla Rudy
Heidi Strub
Sheila Whiteway
Bev Willoughby
La’Chelle Connor

Our Stories Build Our Movement Award

Fredel Albritton has worked as a Phlebotomist at LabCorp for almost four years. It takes extra courage to stand up at LabCorp, a mostly non-union, for profit company providing lab work contracted out by hospitals. Fredel led his co-workers in action together and helped LabCorp workers in Southern California who were organizing a union.

Building a Movement Award

Mary Ann Schroeder is a long time labor activist and union member, as well as a Meat Wrapper at Wedgewood Safeway. Mary Ann has been on the line with grocery workers and health care workers alike to defend and improve our jobs.

Fighting for Fairness Awards

Anita Tarlao, the Time and Attendance person at the Redondo Fred Meyer, started working for Fred Meyer in 1994 and has been a union Steward for almost as long. Co-workers describe her as having a heart of gold, always willing to be there for anyone who needs help.

Carolyn Kennedy has been a Nursing Assistant at Holy Family Hospital in Spokane for the past 22 years. She decided early on she needed a union. While the first two efforts were unsuccessful, the third time was a charm and in 2014 Carolyn and her co-workers organized their union with UFCW 21.

Stewards of the Year

Candice Hemphill has been a part of the Macy’s negotiations for the last six years and a Steward for the last five. She is not only a great leader and Steward at the SouthCenter Macy’s, but she is also a strong activist for workers’ rights and the labor movement. Candice has been a spokesperson with media on TV, radio and newspapers and participated in civil disobedience to protect workers’ rights. In the long and challenging Macy’s contract negotiations of 2015, Candice was an ever present beacon for justice.

Carol Cropper is a Surgical Technician at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane. She helped organize UFCW back in 2001 and has been active ever since. Carol participates in phone banking, ABC recruitment, organizing the union picnic in Spokane, organizing workers in many marches on Administration campaigns, traveling to our state capital to talk with Representatives, and most recently has recruited many co-workers to become Stewards.

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