MFused - Contract ratified!

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MFused
CONTRACT RATIFIED!

On December 29, after months of negotiations with Management, UFCW Local 3000 members at MFused voted to ratify OUR FIRST UNION CONTRACT! Our Union contract is now in full force and effect, including benefits and protections such as:

  • JUST CAUSE: Our contract protects against unfair discipline, ensuring workers cannot be disciplined or terminated arbitrarily, only for legitimate and evenly enforced violations of established policy. Going forward, call the Membership Resource Center at 1-866-210-3000 if you believe you have been unfairly disciplined.

  • LOWER MEDICAL COSTS: The Employer is now responsible for 65% of our total medical premium, up from the former 50%.

  • HIGHER VACATION ACCRUAL: Employees with over one year of service will now accrue more vacation time compared to the previous company policy.

    • Up to 1 year (0-1) years employment 80 hours

      One to two (1-2) years employment 96 hours

      Two to four (2-4) years employment 128 hours

      Four or more (4 +) years employment 144 hours

  • WORK CANCELATION PAY: If Management needs to cancel your shift with less than forty-eight (48) hours’ notice then you will be entitled to pay for no less than half of your regular shift.

  • WAGES & BONUS: All wage increases, including our $750 ratification bonus, will take effect in the first full pay period after today's ratification vote.

Our MFused contract sets a new standard for the cannabis industry, not only in Washington State but nationwide, as workers seek to unionize to improve of their workplaces.

However, our journey is far from complete. We must now enforce our contract, address new issues that arise over its duration, and advocate for improvements in cannabis legislation within our state and beyond.

The achievement of our first contract stands as a testament to the strength of our union and the transformative power of our collective power in creating positive change in our workplace.

Legislative Day of Action in Olympia

Take action with us this next month by coming down to Olympia for our upcoming Legislative Day of Action to advocate for improved worker and cannabis legislation.

Monday, January 29

RSVP now! Go to: mobilize.us/ufcw3000/event/595097/

Mfused DISAPPOINTMENT DESPITE MEDIATION

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Last week, we had our first union contract negotiating session with a mediator from the Federal Mediation & Conciliary Service (FMCS) present. Both sides agreed to request mediation, so that we could try to find some common ground and make progress towards an agreement despite ongoing mistrust and miscommunication.

Unfortunately, we didn’t have the productive session that we were hoping for. We came with comprehensive non-economic counters and tentative agreements on some significant proposals (such as Labor/Management Committees, samples policies, and non-discrimination policies), but we didn’t even get a chance to present these to management. Mfused left the table after not receiving a redline counter to their management rights’ proposal. We’re disappointed, but hopeful that we can actually move forward at our next session with mediation on September 19.

Keep an eye out next week for upcoming action planning.

HOURS CUT FOR PRODUCTION

As we all know, Mfused management has been sending Production workers home early without pay or asking us not to come in on extremely short notice. At the start of our session, we asked for more information so

that we could try to get a clearer picture of why these changes in hours and workload are happening, if these changes are temporary or not, and what we can expect staffing levels and scheduled hours to look like in the future.

Management told us that supply chain issues, industry decline, and other uncontrollable circumstances led to work declining this summer, even though the summer typically sees an increase. We were told to expect work to decline again this winter, as production is historically slower at the end of the year. What we know is that Mfused has reduced the size of Production by declining to fill positions after workers have left, increased the Production workload for the workers remaining, stockpiled inventory, and then cut scheduled hours without bringing these changes to the negotiations or giving us enough time and information to plan for our financial security. We have filed Unfair Labor Practice charges to address this.

Everyone who has had their hours reduced should apply for partial unemployment benefits as soon as possible at: https://esd.wa.gov/unemployment.

Please reach out to one of us on the bargaining team or our Union Rep, Chris Arellano at 206-436-6526, if you have any problems when applying or questions about the process. We are here to support each other.

MFused - Bargaining Continues

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Want to learn more details and find out how we can work together to win a fair contract? Join our negotiations update meeting!

Wednesday, June 28 @ 3PM
Round Table Pizza, 15730 1st Ave S, Burien WA, 98148

Food will be provided.

On June 13, our Bargaining Team met with Management to continue negotiations. Management saw our sticker action around water bottles, and we are happy to announce that we maintained the right to keep water bottles at our workstations! Although that was resolved, we still have a long way to go on other issues.

We presented our proposals around:

  • Fairness in the disciplinary process

  • Process to resolve workplace grievances

  • Application of seniority

Management is insistent on:

  • Not having cell phones at work

  • Ultimately changing our work schedules to begin and end later

We agreed to add language around protective gear, and follow state law around product use in the workplace. We listened to all concerns around Management’s proposals and are pushing back to maintain our current schedules and access to our phones.