BARGAINING TEAM: Carl Ramirez (Security Officer), Lisa Warriax (MSW)

“We received a wage proposal which gives us hope that Cascade Valley wants to engage in productive talks with us. We will keep going forward from here!”

Early this year we won our union election for Security Officers and MSWs. Our bargaining team met in the Fall and drafted proposals which would achieve parity with Skagit Regional, increase retention, and bolster recruitment efforts.

On December 12 we had our first bargaining session with the Cascade Valley’s management and had a successful day. Our proposal is for the existing Cascade Valley collective bargaining agreement to extend to security officers and MSWs. In addition, we proposed wage scales and other compensation for both classifications. Throughout an intense day of negotiations, we’ve already made headway, particularly in refining seniority language for both groups and establishing wage guidelines for Security Officers. Recognizing the significance of seniority in scenarios like job applicant tiebreakers, layoffs, and scheduling, we succeeded in establishing that our original date of hire with Cascade Valley would serve as our seniority date.

In our pursuit of equitable treatment, we firmly pushed back against the Employer’s proposals and stand united in advocating for wage parity. The battle for parity will continue in our upcoming sessions scheduled for January 4 and 18.