In our last contract negotiations, our union won the largest wage increases that we’ve seen, secured a transition to the stable our union health plan through the UFCW Spokane healthcare Trust, and ensured funding to keep our pension plan dependable for retirement. Our NE Oregon contracts recently expired, and our union is prioritizing a new contract that builds upon our previous wins.
After four long days of bargaining with the Employer and countless hours of preparation, our Bargaining Team reached a Tentative Agreement (TA) that we are excited to bring back to our members!
While our initial bargaining sessions were largely positive and relatively low stakes, we now have reached the meat and potato economic proposals that our unit cares about most. This is often the most challenging stage of bargaining – especially when bargaining a first contract. An example from today: in response to our extensively researched wage proposal, the company stated "we don't want to change how we do things" without further discussion.
As 2,500 UFCW 3000 members at MultiCare continue preparations for contract bargaining to begin early next year, there are several upcoming opportunities to gather, discuss and contribute. First off, a big thanks to all who completed the bargaining surveys during August and September. That information will be crucial in our assessing priorities before bargaining.
After holding nomination votes for the Labor Management Advisory Committee (LMAC) from September 21–25, 2026, and then holding nominee votes for Ballard, Central District, and Issaquah on October 21, 2026, we are happy to announce your committee members!
This agreement comes after more than six months of bargaining, an informational picket, federal mediation, a strike pledge campaign, and a strike authorization vote that showed CommonSpirit members were ready to fight for a better contract
After more than a month since our last session, our Union Bargaining Team; Alyssa and Oliver were able to reconvene with the employer on October 19 to receive their economic counter proposal.
Join us via Zoom on Tuesday, October 20, at 6:30 PM to learn more about the tentative agreement reached between our Union Bargaining Team and CommonSpirit.
“At a time when workers are struggling to keep up with sky-high prices for groceries, housing, health care, and other basic necessities, we cannot afford to give a tax cut to the wealthiest people in our state,” said Sam Dancy, UFCW 3000 Executive Board Vice President and Grocery Bargaining Team Member
Our member-led Bargaining Team met with representative from Puzzle Break to lay the foundation for the negotiations of our first union contract. We discussed guidelines around how proposals will be passed, Bargaining Team availability and our desire to have consistent and timely bargaining dates moving forward.
After months of difficult negotiations and a powerful show of solidarity, we have reached a tentative agreement on a new contract! Thanks to our collective strength, we secured significant improvements, including:
Please join us in person at the UFCW 3000 Des Moines office for Contract Action Team meetings on the following dates. We will be meeting in person at the union office, but for those who cannot join in person there will be an online option. During these meetings, will be sharing updates as well as creating picket signs for an upcoming info picket.
After months of difficult negotiations, a powerful informational picket, and an overwhelming strike authorization vote, our Union Bargaining Team fought late into the night on October 8 and reached a tentative agreement on a new contract!
The Nominations are in, now it’s time to vote for who will represent you and your coworkers from Ballard, Central District, and Issaquah PCCs on the newly formed PCC Labor Management Advisory Committee (LMAC). Secure online voting will take place Wednesday, October 21 from 8am to 8pm. Every PCC store elects one LMAC representative, you may only vote on a nominee from your own store.
Following a series of highly attended vote meetings on Monday, October 5, union technical workers at St. Joseph Medical Center voted nearly unanimously to:
Reject CommonSpirit’s subpar contract offer
Authorize a STRIKE
“We set the stage and gave our comprehensive proposal letting the employer know that our priorities are to win wages that we deserve, improve our transportation benefits, win immigration protection language as well as ensuring the safety of our co-workers. We are eager to see what BDA’s response is on the 21. ” -Kota Owens, Bargaining Team Member
For the first time in history, on Tuesday, Sept 29, grocery store workers from across Washington State and North Idaho met at the same table to plan for our upcoming bargaining session with Kroger and Albertsons.
Our team met with the employer again today to continue bargaining. We have finally started discussing economics, focusing on health care and wages, which we know are our members’ top priorities. We've seen very little movement from the employer and know we need to start escalating.
Correcting the Record: Decades after Organizing Her Own Unit, Leslie Ball Is Still Fighting for Her Coworkers
Leslie Ball, a certified surgical technologist at St. Joseph Medical Center in Tacoma and a longtime UFCW 3000 Union Steward, has spent decades standing up for herself and her coworkers.
Her fight for better working conditions began in the late 1990s, when she received a 30-cent wage increase, which ended up only being a five-cent raise after her employer reduced her shift differential by a quarter. With years of experience and a deep understanding of the value surgical techs bring to the table, she knew a nickel wasn’t going to cut it. So she and a coworker, Gail Miller, started organizing their colleagues at St. Joe's despite warnings that previous organizing efforts had failed.
Within a year, they helped Radiology, Respiratory Therapy, Pharmacy, Physical Therapy, and other departments form the hospital’s first Technical Unit, which ratified its first contract in 1999.
In our last contract negotiations, our union won the largest wage increases that we’ve seen, secured a transition to the stable our union health plan through the UFCW Spokane healthcare Trust, and ensured funding to keep our pension plan dependable for retirement. Our NE Oregon contracts recently expired, and our union is prioritizing a new contract that builds upon our previous wins.
Read MoreOur member-led Bargaining Team is close to securing a first contract that will raise the standard for our workplace: a contract that recognizes the value of our work, rewards our commitment, and gives every member greater security and respect on the job. We are closer than ever to making that a reality.
Together, we are working toward a first contract that delivers best-in-market wages and meaningful improvements that will make a real difference in our lives.
Best-in-market wages that recognize the value of our work.
Guaranteed annual raises so our wages continue to grow year after year.
Memorializing ORCA transit passes in our Contract to ensure we will keep this benefit to help make getting to and from work more affordable.
Football-season retention bonuses that reward members for sticking together and helping keep our workplace strong during the busiest season.
Holiday premiums that recognize the sacrifice of working on holidays.
Protections against arbitrary discipline so we have a fair process and greater security on the job.
More workplace protections and benefits that give us a stronger voice and a more secure future.
This progress is happening because members stepped up, got involved, and stood together. Our Bargaining Team is made up of members who understand our workplace because they live it every day. They have brought our priorities to the table and fought for improvements that benefit us all.
We deserve wages that reflect our worth, raises we can count on, benefits that support us, and protections that treat us fairly.
We are closer than ever, but a contract is only real when members participate in the process and vote on it. Our member-led Bargaining Team can fight for the strongest agreement possible, but it takes all of us to take the final step.
When the time comes, make your voice heard. Show up, participate, and vote. This is our first contract, and every member deserves the opportunity to have a say in the agreement that will shape our wages, benefits, and working conditions.
Stay engaged, stay informed, and stay tuned for the next update. Our first contract is within reach! If you have any questions, please reach out to your Union Rep Allison Hanley at 206-436-6586 or your Bargaining Team member Leo Hernandez.
After four long days of bargaining with the Employer and countless hours of preparation, our Bargaining Team reached a Tentative Agreement (TA) that we are excited to bring back to our members!
Read MoreWhile our initial bargaining sessions were largely positive and relatively low stakes, we now have reached the meat and potato economic proposals that our unit cares about most. This is often the most challenging stage of bargaining – especially when bargaining a first contract. An example from today: in response to our extensively researched wage proposal, the company stated "we don't want to change how we do things" without further discussion.
Read MoreAs 2,500 UFCW 3000 members at MultiCare continue preparations for contract bargaining to begin early next year, there are several upcoming opportunities to gather, discuss and contribute. First off, a big thanks to all who completed the bargaining surveys during August and September. That information will be crucial in our assessing priorities before bargaining.
Read More
On Wednesday, October 21, FEEST members had the opportunity to vote on their first contract – with the bargaining committee unanimously recommending a yes vote. We are excited to announce the contract has been ratified by the membership!
The highlights include: Strong Just Cause protections, wage increases for every member every year of the contract, protections for immigrant workers and from ICE, and many more.
Now that you’ve ratified this contract, get to know it. A good contract is only as good as its enforcement. If you believe the contract has been violated, please get in touch with your Union Rep, David. You only have 30 days to file a grievance, so it’s important to let your Union Rep know so we can correct the violation.
For the next steps in this process, the Employer and the Union will be reviewing the final contract. Once it is finalized on both ends, we will post it in the worksite and online for members to see. Until then, please contact your Union Rep with questions.
Please reach out to a Bargaining Team member if you have questions or reach out to your Union Rep – David Trujillo, (206)-436-6606.
Bargaining Team: Erandy Flores, Devan Rogers, Noah Collier, David Trujillo; Negotiator: Robert Goldsmith.
After holding nomination votes for the Labor Management Advisory Committee (LMAC) from September 21–25, 2026, and then holding nominee votes for Ballard, Central District, and Issaquah on October 21, 2026, we are happy to announce your committee members!
Read MoreThis agreement comes after more than six months of bargaining, an informational picket, federal mediation, a strike pledge campaign, and a strike authorization vote that showed CommonSpirit members were ready to fight for a better contract
Read MoreOn Monday, October 19 our Union met with Recovery Cafe to hear their proposal and plan to navigate increased health care rates. To maintain Recovery Cafe’s current provided health care plan, there will be a 22.25% increase in the overall coverage rates. To address that rate increase, the Employer proposed union members would absorb the cost of this increase in new premiums. Most members who are on the platinum employee only plan would pay a $181.56/mo new premium.
In addition to increased plan costs, under the Employer’s health care renewal proposal:
Platinum Plan
Out of pocket maximum will increase from $4000 to $4500 per person.
Office visit will increase - $20 / $30 to $20 / $45
Gold Plan
Out of pocket maximum will increase from $8550 to $9000 per person.
Office visit will increase - $30 / $50 to $30 / $60.
The Union is awaiting further clarified if other provisions of Recovery Cafe’s insurance plan would be impacted.
In response to the Employer’s proposal, our Union proposed the Sound Health and Wellness Trust; the same plan that thousands of union grocery and health care workers are a part of. The Union’s proposal would stabilize the Employer’s cost, improve health care benefit coverage, and have premiums that average $44/mo for most members.
To discuss potential health care changes and how we fight against significant premium costs, we will meet over Zoom tomorrow, Wednesday, October 21 at 7pm. Please reach out to your representative Allison Hanley with any questions: (206) 436-6586.
Meeting ID: 840 7414 2027
Passcode: 558441
After more than a month since our last session, our Union Bargaining Team; Alyssa and Oliver were able to reconvene with the employer on October 19 to receive their economic counter proposal.
Read More
After the last negotiations, the parties agreed to revise the 401k structure. The Employer made it clear that they won't continue the discretionary contribution, the one that isn't legally required. In exchange, they agreed to increase the match from 50% to 100% of 4% or 5%, depending on the worker's seniority.
The vote will take place on Monday, October 26.
Monday, October 26
10am to 2:30pm
Mother Gamlin Center, Emilie and Elizabeth Room
20 W 9th Ave
Spokane, WA 99204
If you have questions, please get in touch with your Union Rep, Lenaya Wilhelm, at 509-340-7369 or 866-210-3000 Ext. 7369.
Join us via Zoom on Tuesday, October 20, at 6:30 PM to learn more about the tentative agreement reached between our Union Bargaining Team and CommonSpirit.
Read MoreOur Bargaining Team is heading back to the table more ready than ever now that a strike has been authorized. Join the upcoming Contract Action Meetings for next steps on winning a fair contract and addressing the suspected unfair labor practices the hospital is committing. Keep wearing that UFCW swag and encourage your coworkers to attend all future meeting as you prepare to take the highest levels of action! Links are below....
and
Our Union Bargaining Team: Michelle Gilmore, Respiratory Therapist; Monica Dewitt, Pharmacy Tech; Sissy Allison, Surgical Technologist; Chad Michels, Cardiovascular Technologist; Leslie Ball, Surgical Technologist, Vanessa Giles, Surgical Technologist
For any questions, reach out to your Bargaining Team or your UFCW Union Rep, Charlie King, at 206-436-6518
Our member-led Bargaining Team met with representative from Puzzle Break to lay the foundation for the negotiations of our first union contract. We discussed guidelines around how proposals will be passed, Bargaining Team availability and our desire to have consistent and timely bargaining dates moving forward.
Read More
Our Union Bargaining Team began our tenth negotiating session on October 8 still riding the momentum from Wednesday’s well-attended and highly energetic informational picket.
In our first meeting of the morning with Optum, we provided management with two documents to give both teams a clear picture of where negotiations stand. The first was what we believe to be the most up-to-date list of tentative agreements (items the parties have agreed to so far), and the second outlined the proposals which remain open for continued negotiation; some of which have been in the Employer’s court for responses since our first bargaining session together…
During that same joint session, management presented several counterproposals addressing full- and part-time designations, regular shift length, and other related FTE/scheduling parameters. Optum also presented us with an extensive proposal related to observed holidays- like how holiday work, pay, and time off is handled. Upon further review of this section, however, we noted that sections of our contract covering observed holidays and holiday pay had already been agreed to back in May. Furthermore, their proposal included language concerning salaried employees, even though there aren’t any salaried employees within our bargaining unit. Confused, we later raised these concerns to the Employer’s attention for further review and clarity.
As has happened at nearly every bargaining session since we brought Optum our initial wage proposal in February, we were told once again that because of another new step in the review and approval process (apparently still above the authority of the management team at the table) we would not be receiving a wage proposal today.
Our position on these persistent delays is clear: we are fed up. However, the strength and solidarity we demonstrated yesterday also made it clear that we are also more ready than ever to take action to win a fair contract!
To discuss ongoing negotiations with our bargaining team and strategize ways to build collective power, we strongly encourage all Optum Everett oncology clinic workers to attend our upcoming Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) training, details below:
“The momentum is as strong as ever; and we’re just feeling stronger than ever!” -Ashley Seidelman
Our Union Bargaining Team: Janis Laffin, RN; Molly Hugo, RN; Ashley Seidelman, Patient Care Coordinator
In September, Recovery Cafe notified our Union that their health care costs have increased beyond 8% (as defined in 18.5 of our collective bargaining agreement) and that the Employer would like to reopen that article of the contract for negotiations. Because of our Union contract, we have the right to discuss any changes to the health care costs the Employer proposes.
This upcoming Monday, October 19, the Employer will meet with our Union to discuss potential cost sharing changes to the health care plan or alternative solutions. If you’re interested in participating in the health care committee, please reach out to your Union Rep Allison Hanley at (360) 409-0242 before the end of the day, Thursday, 10/15.
Please join us in person at the UFCW 3000 Des Moines office for Contract Action Team meetings on the following dates. We will be meeting in person at the union office, but for those who cannot join in person there will be an online option. During these meetings, will be sharing updates as well as creating picket signs for an upcoming info picket.
Read MoreThe Nominations are in, now it’s time to vote for who will represent you and your coworkers from Ballard, Central District, and Issaquah PCCs on the newly formed PCC Labor Management Advisory Committee (LMAC). Secure online voting will take place Wednesday, October 21 from 8am to 8pm. Every PCC store elects one LMAC representative, you may only vote on a nominee from your own store.
Read MoreFollowing a series of highly attended vote meetings on Monday, October 5, union technical workers at St. Joseph Medical Center voted nearly unanimously to:
Reject CommonSpirit’s subpar contract offer
Authorize a STRIKE
“We set the stage and gave our comprehensive proposal letting the employer know that our priorities are to win wages that we deserve, improve our transportation benefits, win immigration protection language as well as ensuring the safety of our co-workers. We are eager to see what BDA’s response is on the 21. ” -Kota Owens, Bargaining Team Member
Read MoreWe are the Union. The members of UFCW 3000 are over 50,000 members working in grocery, retail, health care, meat packing, cannabis, & other industries across Washington state, north-east Oregon, and northern Idaho. UFCW 3000 is a chartered member of UFCW International with over 1.4 million workers in North America.
To build a powerful Union that fights for economic, political and social justice in our workplaces and in our communities.
Correcting the Record: Decades after Organizing Her Own Unit, Leslie Ball Is Still Fighting for Her Coworkers
Leslie Ball, a certified surgical technologist at St. Joseph Medical Center in Tacoma and a longtime UFCW 3000 Union Steward, has spent decades standing up for herself and her coworkers.
Her fight for better working conditions began in the late 1990s, when she received a 30-cent wage increase, which ended up only being a five-cent raise after her employer reduced her shift differential by a quarter. With years of experience and a deep understanding of the value surgical techs bring to the table, she knew a nickel wasn’t going to cut it. So she and a coworker, Gail Miller, started organizing their colleagues at St. Joe's despite warnings that previous organizing efforts had failed.
Within a year, they helped Radiology, Respiratory Therapy, Pharmacy, Physical Therapy, and other departments form the hospital’s first Technical Unit, which ratified its first contract in 1999.
Jenny C., a transporter at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane, knows what it looks like when management hopes a problem will just go away.
Jenny has watched the facility's transport elevators malfunction for more than a year, filing report after report after each incident she witnessed. Supervisors did not appear to take these complaints seriously.
