Our Union Bargaining Team: Azia Domingo, Curtisy Bryant, Emily Hunter, Liisa Luick, Nicole Hardin.

Our Union Bargaining Team met with Management again on August 24 and 25.

We were cautiously optimistic about these dates because it was the first time we met in-person since mid-July. We’ve found that in-person negotiations have been more fruitful, and we were anticipating this trend to continue.

We couldn’t have been more wrong. Macy’s started by passing a proposal that regressed to the terms of our June 27 bargaining date, throwing away the progress we had made through supposals over the past two months. This sudden reversal was a significant setback and suggested the Employer's readiness for a contentious round of negotiations.

The Employer’s latest proposal included:

GENERAL WAGE INCREASE
Years of Service 1-14: Year 1: 40¢, Year 2: 40¢, Year 3: 40¢
Years of Service 15+: Year 1: 50¢, Year 2: 40¢, Year 3: 40¢
$17 Minimum Wage (except Southcenter)

• Elimination of all wage scales, limiting the career growth of members,

• Elimination of most our holiday pay language, replacing it with the employer’s non-union holiday policy,

• REJECTED Union proposal to create a master safety committee,

• REJECTED Union proposal that employees will not be disciplined when calling mall security or the police,

• REJECTED Union proposal for better vacation accruals,

• REJECTED Union proposal for better deficit wipe-offs,

• REJECTED Union proposal for a more affordable healthcare option.

In response, our Bargaining Team mirrored this approach, dropping all the movement made during the supposal process just as the Employer had. They left us with no choice since we could not lock in our progress when they were unwilling to do the same.

We are disappointed with Macy’s actions, yet, our disappointment only strengthens our resolve to take whatever action is necessary to win a fair contract. That being said, our Bargaining Team has called for a second round of informational pickets.

September will become a month of action, as informational pickets are again set for Bellingham, Alderwood, and Southcenter. This time, they will span three consecutive Fridays. Our last round of pickets saw the strong showing of UFCW 3000 members and the community, but now it's time to demonstrate that our solidarity has grown even stronger. As we gear up for a potential labor dispute over the holidays, Macy’s will see that our unity remains unshakeable.

Contract Action Team Meetings:

Southcenter: Tuesday September 5, 12PM-1PM
Southcenter Mall Food Court 2800 Southcenter Mall, Seattle, WA 98188)

Alderwood: Tuesday September 5, 3PM-4PM
Elemental Pizza 3000 184th St SW #948, Lynnwood, WA 98037)

Bellingham: Thursday September 7, 1PM-2PM
Bellis Fair Mall Food Court One Bellis Fair Pkwy, Bellingham, WA 98226)

In addition to RSVP’ing to an informational picket, our Bargaining Team asks that you attend our next Contract Action Team Meetings to learn more about our next steps. During these meetings we will focus on planning for a possible strike over the holidays, including a Q&A session with the UFCW 3000 Negotiations Director.

Macy’s Informational Pickets Round 2 RSVP: bit.ly/macys-info-picket-23

Friday September 15: Bellingham Macy’s | 2:00PM – 4:00PM
50 E Bellis Fair Pkwy, Bellingham, WA 98226

Friday September 22: Alderwood Macy’s | 2:00PM – 4:00PM
18700 Alderwood Mall Pkwy, Lynnwood, WA 98037

Friday September 29: Southcenter Macy’s | 2:00PM – 4:00PM
500 Southcenter Mall, Tukwila, WA 98188

What's the Status of the Strike Authorization Vote?

We've chosen to delay the strike authorization vote and, in its place, arrange informational pickets, with an eye on early October for a potential vote.

This is because our Bargaining Team had requested information from the employer, but this request remained unfulfilled before our August 24 and 25 bargaining dates. The employer's inability to provide all the requested information made it difficult to fully evaluate the outstanding issues, leading to the decision to postpone the vote. However, the employer has committed to providing the information prior to our next set of bargaining dates, which will help our team make an informed decision about when and if a strike authorization vote is necessary.