Crossroads - Bargaining Team & LMC Update!

Our current contract is set to expire on April 7, 2025, and negotiations for the next agreement are approaching. Bargaining surveys will be sent out by email within the week - please make sure to check your emails and give feedback about your priorities! This is our opportunity to meet at the bargaining table and fight for the wages, benefits, and working conditions that you want to see at Crossroads. Our bargaining team is also looking for passionate and dedicated coworkers to join the committee. If you’re interested in joining or want to learn more about the process, please call your union rep Allison Hanley at (206) 436-6586.

Labor Management Committee Meeting Update

Your Labor Management Committee met with management on Monday, January 27, to discuss workplace concerns about safety, scheduling, and store maintenance. Updates on these issues are included below.

Hours Agreement

The Employer heard concerns from the members about the impact of reduction of hours below the hours agreement. The expectation is to have advanced notice for any changes beyond what was communicated. The Employer was agreeable to elaborate on the impact of winter sales on labor hours for future provided hours agreements. The Employer will consider additional methods to keep staff informed, like a publicly posted notice or check-in during team meetings.

Vent Maintenance

The Employer acknowledges that even with proper upkeep, dust seems to collect quickly due to the building and the product being sold. They have already purchased some air purifiers to help with the issue and have agreed to get additional air purifiers for the register and POS area. The Union and the Employer agreed to follow up later about previous duct maintenance to see when the next cleaning would be in order.

Alias Name Tags

The Employer heard that general safety around name tags and gender identifiers was a concern for staff. They maintain that some form of identification is necessary to verify possible transaction issues. Employees are free to change their work alias as often as they want, as long as the Employer can verify whose alias belongs to whom. The Employer encouraged any staff with safety concerns about being identified to meet with Melissa to work out alternate solutions.

The Employer maintained that members could display or omit pronouns on name tags. They were open to posting signage similar to HotCakes’, which encourages customers to use gender-neutral pronouns for all staff members.

Fitting Room Policy

The Employer heard feedback about the bag check policy and whether it was helpful to create a safe environment in the fitting rooms area. The Employer agreed to discuss this in upcoming staff meetings to decide if this policy works for everyone moving forward.

Lighting

The Employer heard concerns about the bright fluorescent lights causing headaches in the darker winter months. Since changing the warmth settings of the lights would require a technician, the Employer was willing to cycle through the other settings and assess them if a technician should be scheduled for maintenance.

Spokane Rosauers Pharmacy Technicians & Assistants Contract Vote Scheduled!

Monday, December 23, 2024 @ 7:30pm

UFCW 3000 2805 N. Market St. Spokane WA 99207

• Significant pay increases

• Retirement security

REI Workers - Bargaining Update

Last Thursday and Friday, we met with REI’s attorneys to continue first contract negotiations. Our UFCW 3000 local leadership joined us at the table to show their support and amplify our voices. We bargained back and forth over language on Communication, Anti-Discrimination, Union Representation, New Technology, and Job Vacancies & Promotions. We also came to a Tentative Agreement on Successorship and Severability. But with no representatives who actually work for REI present and their attorneys holding firm to one-sided proposals, it still feels as though REI is stalling and avoiding making real progress towards an agreement. To make REI uphold its co-op values and to respect and invest in its union workers across the country, we need to share our stories and get our community involved in our fight.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

We’re supporting Shemona Moreno in her candidacy for a seat on REI’s board of directors in 2025! Learn more at ourREI.com:

Shemona Moreno is a proud Latinx & Black woman and lifelong activist who sees social justice, climate justice, and playing outdoors as inextricably linked. It is for her family and friends that she works tirelessly to fight the systems of oppression that have led us to our current climate crises. It is for her family and friends that she works to build a community that is resilient, beautiful, and thriving — where ALL are welcome. She started her path into 350 Seattle as a volunteer during the Defund the Dakota Access Pipeline Campaign in 2016 and has worked her way up to being the Executive Director of 350 Seattle, a member of the 350 Seattle Board, and a representative for the 350 National Local Group Network.

Shemona believes REI should be leading the way with good union jobs, not blocking progress by union-busting and silencing the voices of its own employees. That’s not the REI Shemona knows and loves. She’s running to be a voice for the people in green vests who make REI great but who are not allowed a voice on the co-op’s board of directors.

GET INVOLVED! We’ll be leafletting around our community to support Shemona’s campaign and to raise awareness about our fight for a fair contract. Sign up here:

In front of the Bellingham store: 

Saturday, November 16 • 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM
REI Bellingham • 400 36th St, Bellingham, WA 98225

December dates & opportunities in Seattle and Bellevue to follow!

Mountains to Sound Greenway Annual Celebration

November 14, 5:30 PM in Seattle.

Mountains to Sound Greenway has many connections with REI, including CEO Artz and Sally Jewell. We’ll be attending this free event to chat with environmental leaders and let them know what’s going on with the campaign! If you are interested, sign up here: 

UPCOMING NEGOTIATIONS

We bargain next on December 16 and 17. To observe online, check your email for a link or contact a BT member.

Check the REI union Discord for upcoming negotiations around the country.

Our REI Bargaining Team: Alex Pollitt, Sue Cottrell, Tini Alexander, Sharon Martinez, Dan McCann

Card Kingdom - Membership Meeting Update Tenure Wage Grievance Settlement

During our recent membership meeting on October 8th, we presented the settlement reached regarding the tenure wage grievance. By choosing this settlement, we secured the best possible outcome for the entire Card Kingdom bargaining unit. If we had taken the grievance to arbitration, the Employer's interpretation could have been applied, which would have been less favorable for the bargaining unit.

• MOU on Wage Scale Interpretation: The Union and Employer have agreed on a Memorandum of Understanding that clarifies the interpretation of the wage scale in Article 21. Members will receive their tenure increases on two specific dates based on their hire date: January 1st for those hired between July 28th and January 1st, and July 27th for those hired between January 2nd and July 27th. This agreement prevents significant inequity that could have arisen from the Employer's initial interpretation, which would have required some members to wait nearly an entire year for their increases. With this new language, no member will have to wait more than six months for their tenure wage increase.

• Compensation for Active Members: Each active bargaining unit member will receive 8 hours of pay.

• Backpay for Former Members: The settlement includes 50% of the backpay owed to former Card Kingdom members who were affected by the pay discrepancy.

If you have any questions regarding this settlement, please reach out to grievance representative Dominic Zinsli at (206) 436-6613 until October 23rd. After that date, your Union Representative, Allison Hanley, will be back from her out-of-state assignment and can be contacted at (206) 436-6586.

SavMart Wenatchee Contract ratified!

Contract ratified!

• Wage Increases

• Longevity Pay

• Healthcare premium Holidays

REI Workers - Gaining Momentum

Our REI campaign is gaining momentum! At the Democratic National Convention, UFCW 3000’s President Faye Guenther spoke to a crowd of WA state delegates about the anti-union tactics REI has been waging against its workers. Through this, delegates helped hand out our petition to get REI representatives at the bargaining table and have committed to support our campaign through political, community, and workplace fights.

Have your friends and family sign the petition here!

Faye Guenther, our union’s Secretary-Treasurer Joe Mizrahi, and chief of staff Sarah Cherin will start joining our bargaining tables with REI. Their attendance at our sessions on August 28 and 29 has already changed the pace. We achieved another Tentative Agreement—successorship (what happens if REI is sold)—and sent 4 additional proposals for REI to consider. In the next few weeks, our bargaining team will finalize a comprehensive proposal and begin negotiating off of a full contract with REI moving forward. 

This week we filed another Unfair Labor Practice against REI based on two major issues:

• Employer’s Refusal to TA Language

• Regressive Bargaining

If you have questions about our ULPs, reach out to our bargaining team.

UFCW staff will be coming through to grab photos and quotes from us at REI to begin using them in our media campaign. If you’re interested in supporting the digital campaign, let one of our bargaining team members know how to get plugged in. 

Our next membership meeting will be 7:00 PM on September 22 at Goods Local Brews in Bellingham (2620 Northwest Ave, Bellingham, WA).

Forward together, not one step back!

REI Bellingham Bargaining Team:
Alex, Tini, Sue, Dan (not pictured): Sharon