A HISTORIC VICTORY FOR WORKER-LED UNION DEMOCRACY

From: The Grocery Store Worker Negotiating Committee

Thank you for all you have done to support frontline essential grocery store workers. We had your back during the pandemic and made sure our communities had the food and supplies they needed. We thank you for standing with us during our contract fight with two multi-billion-dollar grocery employers – Kroger and Albertsons/Safeway.

We are happy to share that our new contract, covering around 25,000 Puget Sound area workers, provides record wage increases, overturns historic pay inequities that disproportionately impact women and people of color, secures improved contributions to our pension, raises employer contributions to our health care trust to maintain excellent benefits with no cost increases, strengthens the process for addressing safety issues, and mandates significant new employer investments in training programs.

This victory did not come easily. Throughout the COVID pandemic, union members fought hard for safety. We fought for hazard pay. We fought for respect. We did not win every fight, but we showed our employers that we are willing to take them on and we proved that the public had our backs. In the year leading up to contract expiration, we built Contract Action Teams store by store and we united UFCW locals in Washington, Colorado, and California to fight together for breakthrough contracts. We sent UFCW 3000 staff to support other grocery contract fights, including the 10-day grocery strike in Colorado. Here in Washington, we continued our tradition of joint bargaining with UFCW 3000 and Teamsters 38. We made historic advances in this contract because the employers know we were ready for a fight, and fully prepared to strike if necessary.

Union Democracy in Action

As rank-and-file grocery store workers, members of the UFCW 3000 bargaining committee, and leaders in our union, we know that our contract fight exemplifies union democracy.

This bargaining committee works in grocery stores every day. We come from many different departments. We are young and we are old. We are all genders. We are Asian, Black, White, and Latinx. We made all the key decisions at this bargain, and we are the ones who voted unanimously to recommend this settlement to the membership for approval. That is union democracy at work.

In the year leading up to our contract expiration, we organized store by store, asking members what they wanted to see in the contract, and collecting thousands of strike pledges from our co-workers. That is union democracy at work.

Prior to contract expiration, our union surveyed and polled thousands of grocery workers to make sure we correctly identified their priorities. This bargaining team took those priorities seriously. That is union democracy at work.

Once we got a Tentative Agreement, we took the details of the Agreement to the Union membership at five full days of voting across the region, in Lynnwood, Bellevue, Seattle, SeaTac, Bremerton and Olympia. That is union democracy at work.

We Focus on Our Members’ Top Priorities

The number one priority we heard from members for this contract was significant wage increases at the top of the scale. And this contract gives journey grocery store workers raises of between $4 and $9 per hour – far more than we have ever before won. And the biggest raises are going to workers in departments that have historically suffered from an inequitable pay structure that this contract eliminates.

While we made historic advances in this contract, we did not get everything we wanted. We respect the fact that some members looked at the things we didn’t win and decided to vote no. At the same time, this contract victory gives us confidence that we can work together to address those gaps over the next three years and in the 2025 bargain.

An Attack on Union Democracy is an Attack on Workers

Unfortunately, some outsiders who don’t work in grocery stores decided to spread lies about the agreement in order to influence the outcome of the ratification vote and undermine the very democratic process that is central to a worker-led union. Sometimes attacks like this come from the employer, or employer funded groups. Politicians attack us too. Both attacks are unacceptable.

We are all free to have our opinions on the facts – for instance, we can debate whether it’s worth voting yes for a $4 to $9 per hour wage increase, plus other major gains. But it is harmful to spread false information across social media and bad-mouth a democratic, worker-led contract fight. That just divides workers and helps our employers. So, it is especially concerning to see this behavior from a politician who claims to be on the side of workers.

We want to be very clear about our position on this issue: As a matter of principle, elected officials should respect worker-led contract negotiations by staying out of the process -- unless a majority of union members ask for your support. Our contracts significantly impact our lives, our wages, and our safety every day, and we know best what we need.

We Won

Many of us – including Contract Action Team members, Bargaining Committee members, shop stewards, union staff, and all of our members who committed to take action when called upon – worked hard to obtain this contract victory and we should be proud of what we achieved. Our readiness to fight, and to strike if necessary, convinced two of America’s largest corporations to come to the table ready to make a deal this Bargaining Committee could proudly recommend to the membership.

The Topline Details:

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, 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 in the wage scales, creating a larger “bump” from inflation to the minimum wage.
Increased funding to our Health Care plan, maintaining and improving our high-quality health 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 for store-level Safety Committees to address serious safety issues, beyond just COVID protections.
A half million-dollar contribution 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.
And more

Of course, we still have a lot to do, and we will continue to fight for more gains in the future.

UFCW 3000 Bargaining Team:

Ames Reinhold, Metropolitan Market
Amy Dayley Angell, QFC
Aaron Streepy, Attorney
Cliff Powers, Safeway
Enrique Romero, Fred Meyer
Suzi Geffre, Fred Meyer
Jeff Smith, Fred Meyer
J’Nee DeLancey, Town & Country
Joanna Clapham, Fred Meyer
Kevin Flynn, Albertsons
Kyong Barry, Albertsons
Maggie Breshears, Fred Meyer
Naomi Oligario, Safeway
Roger Yanez, QFC
Sam Dancy, QFC
Shawn Hayenga, Metropolitan Market
Wil Peterson, Fred Meyer