Bellingham grocery workers win their fight for a $4/hour hazard pay mandate

The Bellingham City Council voted 5 to 2 last night (May 10) to mandate $4 per hour hazard pay for frontline workers at large grocery chain stores in the city. Last night’s vote was a final procedural step, following initial approval of the ordinance two weeks earlier. The ordinance will go into effect at 12:01AM on May 25th. It will cover unionized employers, including Fred Meyer, Safeway, and Haggen, as well as some non-union stores such as Whole Foods.

Chris Vincent, a veteran produce worker at Bakerview Fred Meyer, helped organize co-workers to send emails and give public comment at multiple City Council meetings. Upon hearing of the victory, Vincent offered words of celebration:

“We fought an honorable fight for an honorable cause to give the hard-working people on the front lines what they deserve in these hazardous times. I want to personally thank the Bellingham City Council for recognizing the hazardous conditions we work in and for their support in compensating us for it. When we stand together, we win together!”

The Northwest Central Labor Council, led by Secretary-Treasurer Michele Stelovich, and Whatcom County Jobs With Justice, led by Betsy Pernotto, provided crucial support to UFCW21, engaging Council Members and mobilizing supporters to send messages of support and provide comments at several meetings.

Speaking before Council on March 8, the Labor Council’s Stelovich lauded frontline grocery workers:

“They stepped up, they went to work, and they made sure that we had food on our tables. So I just wanted to thank all the grocery workers that have done that. You know that some of the grocery stores have made huge profits… So these are things that they can afford to be able to give their workers… and reward them for being good employees that came to work under very difficult conditions.”

The Whatcom County DSA also mobilized supporters to speak up for grocery workers at multiple Council meetings.

The Northwest Grocery Association and Fred Meyer sent representatives to Council to speak against the ordinance, but there was little opposition, otherwise.

The City Council’s action last night was the culmination of a nearly year-long campaign by Bellingham grocery workers to demand continuation of hazard pay, after Albertsons and Kroger discontinued it last Spring. Members and community supporters held multiple protest actions to educate the public and sent hundreds of messages to City Council once the issue moved into the legislative arena in February.

Throughout the campaign, UFCW 21 members have also emphasized the need for improved COVID safety in their workplaces.

City Council Member Lisa Anderson shepherded the hazard pay ordinance to victory over several months, never backing down in the face of the grocery industry’s legal threats and misinformation.

The hazard pay ordinance covers workers at companies that employ at least 500 employees worldwide and at least 40 in Bellingham. At these companies, hazard pay will be required at stores that are over 10,000 sq. ft. and primarily sell groceries for offsite consumption or which are over 85,000 sq. ft., with 30% or more of their floor space devoted to groceries.

Thank You to the Bellingham City Council members who voted to support grocery workers: Lisa Anderson, Hannah Stone, Michael Lilliquist, Hollie Huthman, and Daniel Hammill

These Bellingham City Council members voted against grocery workers: Gene Knutson and Pinky Vargas