Grocery Store Workers Vote Overwhelmingly to Ratify New Contract!
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Over the life of this new three-year contract, grocery store workers will see wage increases of $4 — $9 an hour, gains in safety and training, health care benefits protected with no increased costs, a secured pension and more.
Frontline essential grocery store workers stayed on the job during the pandemic, ensuring our communities had the food, medicine, and supplies we all needed. While the Employers made billions of dollars in profits, Essential Workers were denied the respect, protections and pay they deserved. Workers across Western Washington united and signed thousands of strike pledges, took actions in their stores and communities, and this week voted overwhelmingly to approve their new contract.
The many improvements in the ratified contract include:
Wage increases of $4 to $9 an hour over the term of the Agreement for the most veteran workers.
Elimination of lower pay scales in departments such as deli, bakery, fuel, and e-commerce, some of which are disproportionately staffed by women, immigrants, and people of color.
An increase of 150% in wage escalators – the required minimum amount for each raise, creating a larger “bump” from CPIS adjustments to the minimum wage.
Increased funding to our Health Care plan, maintaining and improving our high-quality benefits with no increase in costs for members.
Increased funding for our pension - one of the few pensions in the nation that has been able to make the leap from “Red Zone” to “Green Zone” status following the funding crisis caused by the 2008 financial crash.
Stronger ability of store-level Safety Committees to address serious safety issues, beyond just COVID protections.
A half million-dollar contribution each year from the Employers to fund the new Workplace Training program (WE TRAIN WA), allowing pathways to higher paying positions and career mobility within every store.
“This new wage scale moves us one step closer to having a single pay scale for everyone in the store. An hour of work is an hour of work, regardless of what department you are in, and we deserve to be compensated equally.” — Kyong Barry, Albertsons
“This contract is a historic deal. No one in this region has ever seen wage increases like this and it will go a long way to address inequities in Fred Meyer stores.” — Jeff Smith, Fred Meyer
As big and important as this new contract is— it did not come about easily. We made these historic advances because the Employers knew we were ready for a fight, and fully prepared to strike if necessary. We showed the Employers that we are willing to take them on and we proved that the public, our communities, have our backs.
Over the last year we gathered in Contract Action Teams, store by store, and we united UFCW locals in Washington, Colorado, and California to fight together for breakthrough contracts. UFCW 3000 staff went to support other grocery store worker fights, including the 10-day grocery strike in Colorado.
The members on our negotiation team are people that work in the grocery stores every day, from many different departments. Young and old, veteran workers and new hires of all genders and backgrounds, these workers on the bargaining team unanimously recommended that the Tentative Agreement be passed by the membership.
The number one priority of the bargaining team for this contract was significant wage increases at the top of the scale. This ratified contract gives Journey raises between $4 and $9 per hour – far more than we have ever won. The biggest raises are going to workers in departments that have historically suffered from an inequitable pay structure that this contract eliminates.
Together as a union, we will continue to enforce the contract we have won, enforce the laws that protect workers, and build even more support and power to address important issues we all face at work and at home.
We will hold a live UFCW 3000 Telephone Town Hall on Monday afternoon at 3 PM talking about the new grocery store worker contracts and go into details on the wage increases, improved protections and how we won this historic new agreement. When your phone rings at 3 PM on Monday, just answer and you will join the call. If for some reason the call does not go through or it gets cut off, you can also call 888-652-0384 and enter meeting ID 6821 at 3 pm on Monday to join he call directly.
Contracts were ratified for Safeway, Albertsons, Fred Meyer, QFC, Metropolitan Market, Town & Country, and other independent grocery stores. Additional stores in Northern and Peninsula counties, and other independent stores will begin voting on the contract agreement in the coming weeks.
OUR UNION NEGOTIATIONS TEAM:
Ames Reinhold, Metropolitan Market
Amy Dayley Angell, QFC
Aaron Streepy, Attorney
Cliff Powers, Safeway
Caprii Nakihei, Safeway
Cosmo Villini, Safeway
Eric Renner. UFCW 3000
Enrique Romero, Fred Meyer
Suzi Geffre, Fred Meyer
Faye Guenther, UFCW 3000 President
Jeff Smith, Fred Meyer
J’Nee DeLancey, Town & Country
Joanna Clapham, Fred Meyer
Joe Mizrahi, UFCW 3000 Secretary Treasurer
Kevin Flynn, Albertsons
Kyong Barry, Albertsons
Maggie Breshears, Fred Meyer
Naomi Oligario, Safeway
Roger Yanez, QFC
Sam Dancy, QFC
Sam Kantak, Teamsters 38 Secretary Treasurer
Shawn Hayenga, Metropolitan Market
Tammi Brady, Teamsters 38 President
Wil Peterson, Fred Meyer
