Grocery Store Workers Have Right to Wear Black Lives Matter Buttons

For Immediate Release: September 17, 2021
Contact: Tom Geiger, UFCW 21, 206-604-3421

Grocery Store Workers Have Right to Wear Black Lives Matter Buttons

National Labor Relations Board Tells Kroger’s QFC and Fred Meyer to Reach Settlement or Change Policy

Seattle, WA -- Region 19 of the National Labor Relations Board has informed UFCW 21 of its finding that Fred Meyer and QFC – both Kroger companies – violated federal labor law when it prohibited workers from wearing union-sponsored Black Lives Matter buttons.

Specifically, Region 19 found merit in UFCW 21’s charges that Kroger violated the law by: 1) failing to bargain with the Union over a change in workplace conditions – in this case the practice of allowing the wearing of buttons at work; and 2) prohibiting workers from taking action together – in this case, by wearing Black Lives Matter messages – to protest racism in the workplace and in society, generally.

Region 19 will now seek a settlement agreement with Kroger, which would likely require a change to company policy. If a settlement cannot be reached, Region 19 would typically issue a formal complaint and a trial would be held before an Administrative Law Judge, whose ruling would be subject to an appeal to the NLRB in Washington D.C.

“This is very uplifting. When workers were trying to speak out through these buttons and collectively say Black Lives Matter and Kroger said to take the buttons off, that was an insult. This decision is welcome news in our work to bring attention to social and racial injustice in the workplace and in our neighborhoods”, said Sam Dancy a Front End Supervisor at the Westwood Village QFC in West Seattle, WA.

Motoko Kusanagi, a Front End Checker at the University Village QFC in Seattle reacted, “We wore the pins because it seemed like the right thing to do. My coworkers showed me their pins happily, letting me know they stood in solidarity with me and my family. One of the core values of the store is inclusion, so we did not think “Black Lives Matter” was a radical statement for this business. The amount of pushback we received for such a small showing of support still sits wrong with me to this day. I’m glad we could fight back.”

UFCW 21 President Faye Guenther concluded, “In the wake of this welcome action by the NLRB, we are calling on Kroger to respect workers’ rights and take meaningful steps to address racial inequities in Kroger workplaces. Among other things, Kroger needs to do a better job of hiring and promoting African Americans at every level of the company and making it clear that it will not tolerate racism from customers or employees.”

Background

After Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin murdered George Floyd on May 25, 2020, many UFCW 21 members working in grocery and retail stores chose to express their opposition to racism by wearing face masks (otherwise worn for protection from COVID) or other items bearing the Black Lives Matter slogan.

Although Kroger issued public statements expressing sympathy with the Black Lives Matter movement, managers at Kroger-owned stores in Western Washington started ordering UFCW 21 members to remove Black Lives Matter masks in June 2020.

 UFCW 21 responded to the company’s Black Lives Matter ban by collaborating with Fred Meyer and QFC workers to distribute union-sponsored Black Lives Matter buttons with the UFCW 21 logo. When managers banned the Union buttons, UFCW 21 filed charges with the National Labor Relations Board. Kroger’s ban and the Union response received widespread local and national attention.

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UFCW 21 represents over 46,000 workers at grocery stores, retail, health care and other industry jobs.

A message from UFCW 21 President Faye Guenther and other UFCW 21 leaders on the killing of George Floyd, our nation’s history of racism, and our union’s commitment to solidarity over white supremacy

A message from UFCW 21 President Faye Guenther and other UFCW 21 leaders on the killing of George Floyd, our nation’s history of racism, and our union’s commitment to solidarity over white supremacy  

“Please, I can’t breathe.” George Floyd, seconds before his murder  

“As the tears run down my face, as I watched this man die, I ask myself, when will this end?” Eleanor Knight, UFCW 21 Executive Vice President and Shop Steward  

 “Such a shame. Hundreds of years of dehumanizing black people. I have not been this upset in about 20 years. Every time I see this on TV raw emotions overcome me, and nothing but tears continually roll down my face.” Sam Dancy, UFCW 21 Executive Vice President and Shop Steward 

“As a mother of biracial children, I sobbed. I could not even stop crying when I saw what the police did to this man. I fear for the safety of my own biracial children.”  Carrie Ann Perry, UFCW 21 Member 

We are filled with grief as we cope with two epidemics and a failed state response to both. One is a global pandemic that has killed over 100,000 of our brothers, sisters, and siblings here in the US. COVID-19, a disease that could have been minimized, but instead was allowed to devastate our nation, is highlighting the cracks in our foundation and illustrating the gross racial and economic inequalities that plague us. The second epidemic is the deep stain of racism rooted in the founding of our country and built into the fabric of our institutions.  

The widespread and institutional racism and violence against Black people in this nation goes back over 400 years. It is present and on the rise now, in 2020. This is outrageous. The list is long: police brutality, voter disenfranchisement, racism in hiring, health care, education. We stand for justice for Black people who have been murdered as a result of racist policies, practices, and actors. We lift up our collective voice and say their names: Emmett Till. Philando Castile. Sandra Bland. Michael Brown. Tamir Rice. Breonna Taylor. Ahmaud Arbery. George Floyd. The list could fill a book. We stand for justice for all Black people in this country. 

When communities of color are being repeatedly traumatized, when we see racist acts of hate and violence on full display played out online and splashed across televisions and newspapers, we remember that labor’s power comes from our ability to act collectively. Fear undermines our collective power. Racism undermines our collective power. Racism is the enemy of the working class. Racism is the enemy of organized labor. In acts of solidarity, we can gain hope, even where we may disagree. Martin Luther King said, “There comes a time when silence is betrayal.” For working people, there is no more time to remain silent. 

Please join with us in a movement for justice that we of United Food & Commercial Workers Local 21 are committed to help to build. We need your voices, your stories about the injustices that you have experienced and resisted, and we need your engagement in the continuing struggle. 

“I see you, I hear you, I mourn with you. Black Lives Matter.” Jeannette Randall, UFCW 21 Executive Vice President   

Share your voice:

Faye Guenther, UFCW 21 President 

Joe Mizrahi, UFCW 21 Secretary-Treasurer 

Fredel Albritton, UFCW 21 Executive Vice President

Kyong Barry, UFCW 21 Executive Vice President

Gregg Barney, UFCW 21 Executive Vice President

Maggie Breshears, UFCW 21 Executive Vice President

Greg Brooks, UFCW 21 Executive Vice President

Patricia Brown, UFCW 21 Executive Vice President

Christy Cyr, UFCW 21 Member

Sam Dancy, UFCW 21 Executive Vice President

Amy Dayley Angell, UFCW 21 Executive Vice President

Robin Grier, UFCW 21 Member

Tashia Hicks-Templeton, UFCW 21 Member

Eleanor Knight, UFCW 21 Executive Vice President

Atsuko Koseki, UFCW 21 Executive Vice President 

Mohamed N Muhidin, UFCW 21 Executive Vice President

Carrie Anne Perry, UFCW 21 Member

Jennifer Parker, UFCW 21 Member

Wil Peterson, UFCW 21 Executive Vice President

Cliff Powers, UFCW 21 Executive Vice President

Jeannette Randall, UFCW 21 Executive Vice President

Rob Shauger, UFCW 21 Executive Vice President

Scott Shiflett, UFCW 21 Executive Vice President

Chuck Svac, UFCW 21 Member

Richard Waits, UFCW 21 Executive Vice President

Sue Wilmot, UFCW 21 Executive Vice President

Zion, UFCW 21 Member

An open letter to Governor Inslee, Secretary Wiesman, Vice Admiral Bono from Washington's front line Unions

April 1, 2020
RE: COVID-19 Transparency of Response Efforts and Working Conditions

Governor Inslee, Secretary Wiesman, Vice Admiral Bono,

We are writing to thank you for your leadership during this unprecedented crisis and to ask for your help to address a number of ongoing concerns. As unions representing workers who are on the frontlines fighting this pandemic, we are hearing from our members daily about their genuine commitment to serving our communities combined with their very real fears of getting sick, potentially infecting others, and of the critical need for their protection. As you well know, without our health care workers and emergency responders, we will fail to adequately respond in the days ahead.

We ask for your immediate help in the following areas:

1. Personal Protective Equipment and Supplies

Over the last several weeks, we have communicated our request for more transparency in the supply chain of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and supplies. We have heard that the state has received some significant shipments of PPE from the Strategic National Stockpile and other sources. Yet, those supplies have not made it into the hands of frontline health care workers and emergency responders.

As the unions representing workers who so desperately need PPE for their own safety, we ask that you provide a weekly report of amount of PPE at the EOC, where it is going, and to whom it is being distributed (down to the facility level). We also ask that you request from the hospitals and health providers under the DOH fourpart triage list a weekly report of PPE on hand.

Those of us representing health care workers are hearing stories from our members of supplies of N-95 masks and other PPE being locked in cabinets rather than provided to those on the frontlines. In the law enforcement community, department leadership is taking PPE supplies from jail facilities to offer some limited resources to officers; other departments are directing supply officers to use “traditional purchasing chains” for needed PPE. Neither of these directives are sustainable or solution oriented. It is critical that we understand the supply chain and where PPE can be utilized by health care workers and first responders now, rather than being saved for later.

2. COVID-19 Testing

Many counties are prioritizing testing of health care workers and first responders; this is both appreciated and appropriate. However, we are not receiving updates from counties or the state on the number of tests provided to health care workers and first responders nor the results of those tests. We ask that you provide more transparency in testing, including a weekly report of a) how long it is taking to receive results, b) how many health care workers/first responders are being tested, and c) the results of those tests (i.e., number of positives and negatives). We also ask that the Governor’s Office inform EMS that first responders must be prioritized for testing, especially those with symptoms or workplace exposure. Test processing for first responders and health care workers should be expedited.

3. Use of Appropriate Leave

As our members are exposed to COVID-19 on the job, there is no system-level response. A standard statewide protocol for exposure response, testing, and quarantine is urgently needed. This should include the use of appropriate leave – frontline responders should not be required to use accrued paid time off, vacation, or sick leave benefits while on quarantine. We ask that a statewide standard for leave be adopted that includes use of paid administrative leave or workers’ compensation with paid administrative leave making up the difference – in each case, when quarantined, isolated, or treated, employees should be kept whole in terms of salary and benefits.

We also ask that the Governor clarify his earlier order regarding L&I claims filed by health care workers and first responders – our members need clarification that the decision to self-quarantine due to workplace exposure without the specific direction of a health care provider or employer administration is allowable. We strongly believe that presumption of workplace illness should be made for health care workers and first responders.

4. Protection of Vulnerable Workers

National COVID-19 guidelines tell us that those in vulnerable categories – those over 60 years of age, pregnant women, and people with underlying health conditions – need to be protected. In a recent press conference, Governor Inslee stated in the strongest terms that workers in these vulnerable categories or those who live with vulnerable people should be allowed to either work from home or take extended leave, continue to be paid, and have their job available to them when this crisis ends. While acknowledging that this policy did not yet carry the force of law, Governor Inslee clearly and unequivocally gave this direction to businesses.

Despite this, many of our members have been told they must remain on the job – including in emergency rooms and Intensive Care Units where the highest volume of COVID-19 patients are treated. Likewise, first responders within fire and law enforcement who fall into the category of vulnerable workers must also be given accommodation during this emergency. We ask that you make clear to our employers that vulnerable workers must be protected through reasonable and safe accommodation or by staying home.

We greatly appreciate our partnership with you during this crisis, and we look forward to working with you to ensure the above concerns are addressed post haste.

Sincerely,

"Stay Home" announcement and a message from President Faye Guenther and Secretary Treasurer Joe Mizrahi

Dear UFCW 21 Member, 

Last night, March 23, Washington Governor Jay Inslee announced that he has issued a “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” order, effective immediately across Washington State due to the outbreak of coronavirus/COVID-19. This means everyone in our state is expected to remain in their homes except for essential activities, like getting medical care or going grocery shopping, or going to work if you or your workplace are considered essential. All non-essential businesses must close within the next 48 hours unless all employees can work from home. Grocery stores, pharmacies, banks and other essential businesses will remain open. You can learn more at the state’s website or read the full order with information about what are essential businesses. This order is expected to last at least two weeks. 

We know this affects all of our more than 45,000 members in different ways—many of us are essential personnel and will have to go to work even during this emergency. Others are facing shutdowns that are affecting our hours and our jobs. Some members have sick family and friends or have already lost people to COVID-19. But no matter what we go through, we go through it together, as one union. 

Thousands of UFCW 21 members who are on the front lines in various industries have already won hazard pay, extra paid leave, and updated safety precautions at work by signing petitions and bargaining for agreements with our employers. Negotiations continue in many workplaces. Other members are disseminating critical safety information to our coworkers, or supporting and checking in with each other more than ever. We know that when we stand together with coworkers and fellow union members, we can help keep each other safe and hold our employers accountable. 

UFCW 21 stands with dozens of other unions and community allies in our state, working together to demand that business and government keep working people safe at all times, offer the support we need to do our jobs, and find ways to make us whole if we incur losses during this outbreak. We have already accomplished a great deal in a short time, and we know there is more work to be done. 

If you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions, please reach out to your Shop Steward or Union Rep. You can find updated COVID-19 information on our website. If you believe your workplace is unsafe or you have safety concerns, please email safetyreport@ufcw21.org. 

We will continue to do weekly Tele-Town Hall calls with members on Monday evenings, so keep an ear out for those calls, and we will be in touch with you by phone, email, text message, and the UFCW 21 app as well. Please ensure your contact information is up to date, and make any changes or updates as soon as you can. 

Let’s take care of each other right now, and get to work building a more powerful union and a better world for working people. 

In solidarity, 

Faye Guenther, UFCW 21 President 

Joe Mizrahi, UFCW 21 Secretary-Treasurer 

March 5 Update: Message to members from the President and Secretary Treasurer of UFCW 21:

We have reached out to all members today about the recent outbreak of respiratory disease caused by a new coronavirus, COVID-19, here in Washington State. As many of you have seen in the news or at your workplace, this is a contagious illness with confirmed cases in our area, including at some health care facilities where UFCW 21 members work.

Here’s what we’re doing so far: We have already made comprehensive information requests of our health care employers so we can have a full picture of how they plan to keep people safe at work. This includes information about trainings, protocols, and personal protective equipment. We encourage all health care workers to stay up to date on the Centers for Disease Control’s interim guidance for health care workers to help ensure employers are following these guidelines in your work sites at all times.

We are also regularly in touch with state and local agencies so we can make long-term plans for member safety as this continues, and to advocate for benefits for members who are affected by COVID-19, including those who may be quarantined or otherwise must miss work. We are working together with other health care unions so that we are all sharing information and supporting each other. And we are working directly with other employers as well, to ensure all our members have safe workplaces and access to sick leave during a viral outbreak.

One of the most important ways we can all prevent the spread of this illness even outside health care settings is to stay home from work if you are feeling ill. Our members have fought hard for access to paid sick leave and family leave, and bargained for other leave in our contracts. It is important to know your contract, know the law, and keep yourself, your coworkers, and your community safe. Health care workers and the public will rely on things we have fought for, like access to meal and rest breaks and affordable health care for our families.

If you feel ill, especially if you have a fever, cough, or shortness of breath, you should contact your health care provider to see if you should go in for care. You can also call the Washington State Department of Health coronavirus hotline at 1-800-525-0127, and press #.

You should reach out to your Shop Steward or Union Representative as soon as you can if you have any questions about your rights, concerns about staying home when you are feeling sick, if you feel your workplace is unsafe or you are asked to do something unsafe at work, if you face any discipline related to the impacts of this outbreak, or if you experience a change in your working conditions. You can also report workplace safety concerns to safetyreport@ufcw21.org. If you do so, please include detailed information about where you work, your safety concerns, and how best to contact you.

Much of our union family is on the front lines of this outbreak, whether it’s providing high-quality patient care, offering compassionate customer service, keeping groceries and supplies stocked for the public, or safely cleaning our workplaces and health facilities. Let’s continue to do so without discrimination. As we are sure you’re all aware, there is no basis for assessing a person’s coronavirus risk just because of a their race, ethnicity, language, or nationality, and stigma will only hurt our ability to deal with this outbreak.

Please know that we are committed to ensuring your safety and dealing with the effects of this outbreak for as long as it lasts. Don’t hesitate to be in touch with your rep with any questions or concerns.

In solidarity,

UFCW 21 President Faye Guenther

UFCW 21 Secretary Treasurer Joe Mizrahi

March 3 update for Members on Coronavirus

UFCW 21 President Faye Guenther with PCC members Atsuko and Jeanett in Edmonds to talk about their upcoming bargain and discuss how the Novel Coronavirus outbreak is impacting members at work.

• We are in active communication with state and county officials to get the most up-to-date information we need to help keep members safe.

• We have filed information requests with our health care employers to ensure they are following guidelines to keep members safe at work.

• We are in discussions with other employers about best practices for public health and workplace safety to ensure all members are safe at work.

• We are identifying any areas we need to demand to bargain over the impacts of this outbreak, and are making plans for long-term effects of an outbreak in our workplaces.

• UFCW 21 President Faye Guenther visited members this morning to answer questions and discuss how the coronavirus is impacting workplaces.

Remember: utilize the leave language and health care you’ve bargained for, and contact your Shop Steward or Union Rep for any support you need to stay safe and keep your workplace safe, including if you face any discipline related to the impacts of this outbreak.

More information and resources:

UFCW 21 Update for Members on the Coronavirus Outbreak

Sanders and Medicare for All Could Improve Workers’ Power

Sanders and Medicare for All Could Improve Workers’ Power

Faye Guenther and Sue Wilmot

It is not surprising that a majority of democratic primary voters have identified Health Care as their top issue in the upcoming election. One of the most significant drivers of working people’s economic trouble is health care costs and related stress. This is central to why UFCW 21, the state’s largest private sector union, has endorsed both Medicare for All as well as Senator Bernie Sanders for President.

There are four key reasons why a large union, with many members who have negotiated strong health care plans for themselves, supports Medicare for All.

One: Employers try to get rid of our union-negotiated health plans or increase the costs nearly every time we go into contract negotiations. A few years back, 30,000 Puget Sound-area union grocery store workers nearly went on strike to prevent their employers from cutting health plans for workers and their families. While this was an immense show of worker power and community support, grocery store workers were fighting to keep what we had, not make the proactive improvements we needed. This dynamic is all too common, where health care coverage is a major obstacle during bargaining. Medicare for All would remove that challenge, and we as workers could focus our negotiations on other essential topics, like wages and working conditions.

Two: Linking a worker’s health care to their job, as is often the case for union workers with health care, makes us too dependent on our employer and limits our freedom to move from one job to another. Even now, when there is very low unemployment, worries about losing health care coverage can cause us to stay at one job instead of moving to another that would be better for our career, pay higher wages, or work better with our family’s schedule. Medicare for All would solve that problem.

Three: If all workers had access to quality, affordable health care coverage, independent of their employment, it would remove one of the reasons why workers without a union are fearful about trying to organize one in their workplaces. Why? They wouldn’t have to stress about the very real risk of not being able to afford coverage if their employer retaliated against them for their unionizing efforts. A bully employer might try to intimidate you out of building a union at work, but those threats would no longer concern your family’s access to health care coverage. Medicare for All would provide insurance for everyone as a universal right, as is the case in almost every other nation on earth.

Four: By passing Medicare for All, we would see a national shift in the inflation of health care costs. We at UFCW 21 have shown that a smartly run health plan can avoid the runaway cost increases that have become all too common for many working people. The health plan we have negotiated for tens of thousands of our members has avoided large increases in premiums, out-of-pocket costs, deductibles, prescriptions and other health care costs by negotiating with providers on a massive scale and incentivizing workers to be more invested in their own health. For the economy as a whole, when our nation stops spending hundreds of billions of dollars a year to pay for increasing health care costs that make insurers, health care conglomerates, and drug companies rich, we as a nation will be able to spend those resources on health for the many instead of wealth for the few.

We applaud Senator Sanders and our representative Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal for their long-time support of Medicare for All and feel their records show a commitment to doing this policy right for working people in our country.

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ABOUT UFCW 21

UFCW 21 is working to build a powerful union that fights for economic, political and social justice in our workplaces and our communities. We represent over 46,000 workers in retail, grocery stores, health care, cannabis, and other industries in Washington State.

Faye Guenther is President of UFCW 21. Sue Wilmot is a long-time UFCW 21 member and workplace leader at Safeway.

Secretary-Treasurer Faye Guenther takes her PHA

UFCW 21 Members with Sound Health and Wellness Trust health care need to take their PHA (Personal Health Assessment) before September 30. It's easy and can be done online and even on your phone. Save money on your deductible. Take you PHA at soundhealthwellness.com

NEW GENERATION OF LEADERSHIP AT UFCW 21

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As your President, and after 43 years with UFCW, I have decided to retire. UFCW 21 has truly been the work of my life. First, I want to thank all of you, the members, who again and again show we are at our best when we take action together for a common and just cause. The fight for economic, political, and social justice is one I am happy to have been part of alongside all of you. 
 
I could not have come to the decision to retire without the utmost confidence in the new generation of leadership of Todd Crosby and Faye Guenther. I am so pleased to be able to announce the Executive Board’s decision to appoint these two to take our union forward. I have worked with Todd for 20 years and Faye for over a decade. You are in exceptional hands. Both of them have great experience in the labor movement generally and in UFCW 21 specifically, and I am thankful to be able to have them follow my time here at UFCW 21. 
I encourage you to read the enclosed letter from these two extraordinary leaders.
 
While I am very much looking forward to retirement, I will dearly miss the work and the relationships, the friendships and the struggles. From my early days as a Produce Clerk, to my decades as a staff person and President, I have been honored and humbled to work with all of you. 
 
Over the years, there have been so many highlights it is impossible to mention them. We have grown to be the largest UFCW local in the nation and are often seen as one of the most progressive and active unions in the United States. While we did not win every time, we have certainly had to struggle for everything we have won. Together, we made change happen.
 
We have built a union that commands respect from employers, politicians, and other labor unions. We have helped start, and I am sure will continue to participate in, campaigns for equality in the workplace and in the community. 

As I retire, it gives me great pride that Todd and Faye will be the leaders pushing our union forward. I encourage all of you to keep involved in your workplace -- stand up and stand together. Above all else, know that when workers take collective, thoughtful action, we can win better wages, benefits, and working conditions, as well as make the world a better place.

All the best to you, 

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…provides an opportunity to try new things, make changes where needed, and reach out to and connect with members. The future of our union will be best when we combine the expertise and knowledge of veteran members (be they younger or older) and the creative ideas that new members bring. 

To be successful, we will need to continue to build a stronger and larger network of stewards across the state. Together, working with many of you, we have built this network to well over 1,000 stewards. Stewards are a worker’s greatest asset in a work site but to be in each work location, each shift, everyday, we will need thousands more. If you or someone you know at work might be interested in taking on this leadership role in our union please contact your Union Rep. by visiting ufcw21.org
 
Through collective, thoughtful action, we will continue to grow our membership and more effectively advance the power and interests of our members.

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I come into the Presidency of UFCW 21 with a long history in our union. I started as a UFCW member back in 1988 as a Courtesy Clerk and then Produce Clerk at a Thriftway in Vancouver, WA. After graduating from College, I worked with United Farm Workers and then joined the staff of UFCW 21 in 1995 at the age of twenty-four. Since that time I have led countless contract campaigns and organized numerous new workplaces in all the industries UFCW 21 represents. Prior to my Presidency, I served as the Secretary-Treasurer and previously held positions throughout the organization such as Executive Vice-President, Staff Director, Organizer and Union Rep. As President I will also continue our political efforts to advance the interest of our members.

I am excited and humbled to become the new President here at UFCW 21. Our union will continue the organizing struggle that allows for workers to join and stay in our union. We will negotiate through strength to earn good wages, benefits, and working conditions and fight for improved public policies. Vigilant enforcement will be necessary to ensure our contracts and the law are followed. UFCW 21 is committed to strengthening and deepening our community partnerships throughout Washington state. 

You can count on my commitment to work with all of you and continue to build our powerful union of workers.

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I am honored to become Secretary-Treasurer of UFCW 21 after 15 years of fighting for workers. In the late 1990’s as an organizer for UFCW 21 I helped win first contracts for numerous health care facilities throughout the region. I then returned to my home state of Oregon to continue union work and earn my law degree. After passing the Washington Bar in 2008, I came back to work with the members of UFCW 21 and served as Membership Action Director, Staff Director, and Executive Vice-President.
 
I will work hard everyday on your behalf as we continue to build our union.

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“I worked with Todd and Faye during our 2010 and 2013 Grocery Contract Negotiations. They are dedicated to our membership and helped union workers to stand up to protect our pension and health care. I watched them remain calm, even when things were tense. And they always remember that the members are the union and keep the interests of the members close to heart. They will be an excellent team to carry us into the future.”

— Sue Wilmot Safeway, Bainbridge Island

“I’ve known Todd for 14 years. He came over to help organize us when we first joined the union at Sacred Heart back in 2001. He and Faye have always been two people I can work with to get things done, like creating our Health Care Advisory Board. This Board helps our union better connect with the health care members. Their experience in organizing, contract enforcement, and negotiating in health care will be a big asset to our union as they take on the new roles of President and Secretary-Treasurer.”

— Ginny Hein, Providence Sacred Heart, Spokane