UFCW 21 Winter 2020 Newsletter: The Power of Unity

UFCW 21 Winter 2020 Newsletter Articles:

The Power of Unity

Our unity is what got us here, we can’t forget that our united strength against the third largest healthcare corporation in the nation is how we will win!

Across the state, health care workers had been in hard negotiations with Providence Health for over a year at some hospitals and were making little headway. At every turn Providence was using intimidation, surveillance, unlawful polling, and threatening lockouts against health care workers. Progress at the bargaining table was also frustrating: Providence proposals failed to adequately address safety, staffing and other workplace concerns raised by employees. At the same time, they continued to insist on a massive takeaway of hard-earned benefits that some workers have been earning for decades. Jose Hernandez, a member of UFCW 21, summed up many workers’ frustration: “As an Emergency Room Assistant at Sacred Heart, I see patients and their families in times of greatest need. They are counting on Providence to provide the highest quality care, but too often Providence is putting profits first. I am ready to strike for my patients and ensure their health is always our top priority.”

15,000 health care workers from UFCW 21, WSNA, and SEIU Healthcare 1199, the state’s largest unions at Providence knew that by standing together and acting in coordination we could stand up to Providence. The three unions, for the first time ever, signed a historic unity commitment, a pledge to stand as one in coordination and solidarity. Workers of all three unions voted in overwhelming numbers to authorize a strike and started joint actions across the state with the support of our community partners, neighbors, patients, and elected leaders. Our coalition fight for a fair contract at Providence was even picked up by national presidential candidates and news outlets across the state and country.

Our unity paid off; hours before our planned 10-day notice to strike, Providence agreed to take their drastic cuts off the table—creating a pathway to win strong contracts at all of our Providence locations. We will continue to stand with our partners until we all win strong contracts at Providence and we remain committed to building strong coalitions with SEIU and WSNA—and throughout the labor movement—to fight for stronger jobs and communities. We showed that through unity, and a commitment to our patients and each other that we could win a fair contract that is better for patient care and safety, better for staffing and better for the future of our hospitals.

UFCW 21 scholarships still available!

scholarships available

Full-time Student Scholarships: $2,000
Health Care Profession Scholarships: $3,000
Four-Year Scholarship of $4,000/year for 4 years
First in Family Scholarships: $2,000
Marilyn Savage, RN Memorial Scholarship: $3,000

Application Deadline: March 6, 2020

The community remembers Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

The community remembers Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on January 20, 2020, as families and friends unite and rally in Seattle’s Central District. Dr. King’s courage to stand up against oppression and resist hate through nonviolent direct action was his legacy that will continue to live on for generations to come. If you would like a commemorative button in honor of Dr. King, please contact your Union Rep.

When we fight, we win in Olympia

The 2020 legislative session is upon us and once again UFCW 21 will be in Olympia fighting to advance workers’ rights. Past legislative sessions have seen us win victories like ensuring uninterrupted meal and rest breaks for frontline health care workers, and vacating cannabis misdemeanors. In 2017, we fought for and won the most progressive Paid Family and Medical Leave law in the country. As of January 1, the program is now live! Information about eligibility for coverage and how to apply can be found at www.paidleave.wa.gov or reach out to your rep with any questions. This is one of the strongest statewide Paid Leave programs in the country and you now have access to it!

Legislative wins like this only happen when we have pro-worker majorities in Olympia and when legislators hear the real stories of workers. UFCW 21 has a full slate of policies on the agenda for 2020 that will make Washington a better place for workers, our families, and our communities. Read on to find out more!

• The Working Families Tax Credit would help fix Washington’s broken and upside down tax system by providing tax relief to low and moderate wage workers.

• UFCW 21 proudly represents cannabis workers at Have A Heart, and our cannabis legislation provides an opportunity for our union to grow while also ensuring that cannabis jobs in Washington state are good jobs.

• Our slate of health care legislation includes bills to help reduce work-related injuries for health care workers, protect the personal information of our public sector health care workers, and have better financial transparency in large health care institutions. These bills are designed to improve working conditions for health care workers, as well as improving the quality of care patients receive.

• We will continue our fight from previous legislative sessions to pass bills that promote housing affordability, which has been identified as the top non-bargaining issue for our members.

• Updating the workers’ compensation process is another top priority – the system is currently stacked against workers with unnecessary and overly invasive Independent Medical Exams for injured workers and Third-Party Administrators who are often utilized to suppress workers’ claims. We need to strengthen protections for workers as they navigate the system so workers can safely return to work – and pay their bills on time when they are out due to injury.

Winning on issues like this is hard, it takes electing pro-worker candidates as well as workers getting involved in the legislative process. If you are interested in coming to Olympia during the 2020 legislative session, reach out to Karsten Wise, political organizer at 206-436-6556 or email: actionteams@ufcw21.org

New Seasons Workers Welcome

UFCW 21 is welcoming some of our newest members—grocery workers displaced by the December closure of New Seasons Market’s Ballard store.

New Seasons announced in December that it would close the Ballard store and leave the Seattle market, where it had previously committed to open two to three stores per year. The good news is many New Seasons workers are moving over to union stores, including Metropolitan Market and PCC. In fact, the company’s Mercer Island store will transition to Metropolitan Market in the spring. Later this year, PCC will open at the Central District location that New Seasons leased and furnished but never opened.

New Seasons is a Portland-based natural foods grocery chain with a record of anti-union activity. Naturally, UFCW 21 members were concerned when the company announced an ambitious Puget Sound expansion in 2015.

Our concerns intensified when New Seasons competed aggressively with Metropolitan Market for the Mercer Island location, a former Albertsons store. At the time, unionized Metropolitan Market and anti-union New Seasons were both owned by the same private equity firm—Endeavour Capital. So New Seasons’ competition with Met Market looked to us like an attempt by Endeavour Capital to weaken the union and undercut our contracts.

Over the past four years, UFCW 21 and our community partners repeatedly advised New Seasons that it would be welcomed in Seattle if it committed to respect workers’ rights, meet area standards, and address concerns about its role in gentrification and displacement in the Central District. The company dismissed our advice and even hired an aggressive union buster to counter worker organizing in Portland.

UFCW 21 is committed to doing everything we can to support a successful transition for all New Seasons workers. And we are also encouraging PCC to work with Central District community leaders to ensure the 23rd and Union store reflects and respects the historic African American population of the Central District.

Are you a New Seasons worker with questions about moving over to a union store, or need help with job transition? Please call Marc Auerbach at (206) 436-6519.