Skagit Regional Health - Creating a Better Future for All SRH Workers

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Skagit Regional Health

Creating a Better Future for All SRH Workers

Bargaining Team: Marilyn Faber, Union Rep; Cindy Tjaden; Isabel Contreras; Kalisa Dolph; Britney Myers-Fuller; Ashley Price; Briana Hovsepian; Graydon Hingey; Michael Koenig; Annalise Pasillas; Elizabeth Mayor; Alina Delano; Micheal Schwartz

On October 24, we met with the Employer briefly and drafted the plan for the subsequent bargaining sessions. We will have a private meeting on October 30 to put together all the economic proposals. On November 6, we will present all the economic proposals to the Employer. This is the stage where we need to act together and show the Employer that we are committed to fighting for a contract that will carry all the benefits we deserve. If the SRH CEO does not have financial concerns about making ends meet, we shall not have that concern either. They have heard our committee over and over that we are striving for fair adjustments to all the contract language.

The Employer has inquired about an MOU on the tentative agreed-upon new language regarding Meals and Breaks, and has spread false statements that our Union is holding this matter. We have maintained our position that any tentative agreements are not official until the whole membership has had an opportunity to ratify the new contract.

On November 6, for the first time, the Employer is coming to our house to have the bargaining session. This is a healthier step towards building a stronger relationship and ensuring the pillars for a better future. We appreciate that the Employer has taken this initiative, and we hope this is a game-changer on our path to a better future.

Some Tentative Agreements Reached Include:

  • Beginning bargaining sessions 90 days prior to expiration

  • Language that will make us a stronger Union, with access to the right information

  • Modified language to acknowledge Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

  • Improved language that will allow Shop Stewards to carry out their duties around the hospital and clinics

  • Workers will have access to their CBA through the hospital intranet

  • Language to bargain over job descriptions changes

  • Language to protect workers going through immigration

  • An email from the Employer acknowledges that the discipline has been removed and is no longer considered

Our subsequent bargaining sessions will be on November 6 and 14. There are possibilities of more bargaining days in December (if necessary); we will let you know in the next bargaining update. We encourage all members to keep wearing your Union colors in the workplace and join us for our CAT (Contract Action Team) meetings.

Contract Action Team Meetings

  • November 10

  • 6pm - 7pm

  • UFCW 3000 Union Hall

  • 1510 N 18th St

  • Mount Vernon, WA 98273

Moving forward, CAT meetings will be every other Monday until the contract is ratified, same time, same location unless otherwise noted: November 24, December 8, December 22, etc.

“Narrowing our non-economics down so that we can prioritize economics”

— Ashley Price

“The best way to predict your future is to create it.”

— Abraham Lincoln

If you have questions or would like to get more involved in organizing a fair contract, please reach out to your Union Rep, Marilyn Faber, at 1-866-210-3000, EXT. 4678.